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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Bosmelet, located in Auffay in Val-de-Scie (Seine-Maritime), is an emblematic 17th century residence built in 1632 by Jean Beuzelin, President of the Normandie Parliament. It replaces an ancient medieval castle whose foundations remain in the cellars. This monument illustrates the social ascension of the Beuzelin family, linked to the Norman parliamentary nobility, then to the Dukes of La Force by the marriage of Anne-Marie Beuzelin in 1698, sealed by Louis XIV himself.

In the 18th century, the castle reached its peak under the impulse of the Duke of La Force and his wife, who undertook ambitious works. In 1715, Colinet, Premier Jardinier de Le Nôtre, drew a French-style park centered on a 2 km green carpet, framed by a double alley of linden trees planted in 1718, unique in Europe. The plan to enlarge the castle, inspired by Versailles, was interrupted by the Duke's death in 1726. The estate then moved to the Thomas du Fossé, the Jansenist family persecuted under Louis XV, whose members translated the Bible of Port-Royal.

The French Revolution spared the castle thanks to the skill of Baroness Thomas du Fossé, who painted royalist symbols of wall paper to avoid reprisals. In the 19th century, Baron Pierre de Bosmelet, having fought for Bavaria against Prussia in 1870, preserved the estate again. During World War II, the park houses a German V1 launch ramp targeting London. Henriette Soyer de Bosmelet, owner, saves the works of the castle before being imprisoned. Colonel Hollard, who was resistant, transmitted to the Allies the plans of the installations, allowing their bombing in 1944.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1946, the castle was restored after the war by Diana de Bosmelet, who reopened the estate to the public in the 1970s. His son Robert and his wife Laurence created the Rainbow Garden, awarded at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2000. Since 2016, director Alain Germain has owned it. He set up his artistic fund (costumes, models, archives) and made it a living cultural place, hosting exhibitions, concerts and artists' residences.

The park preserves medieval remains, a 16th century orangery, an 18th century chapel, and military elements from 1943, such as a bunker and launch tracks. A contemporary sculpture, the sculpture bridge of Taiwanese architect Xuan-Cheng Chen (2017), symbolically links history and modernity. The estate, opened from May to October, combines heritage, memory and creation.

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