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Origin and history

The castle of Bricquebec, built on a castral motte as early as the 10th or 11th century, was entirely rebuilt in the 14th century by Robert VIII Bertran, and then rebuilt in the 16th century. A nerve centre of the Barony of Bricquebec, it was one of the major strongholds of the Dukes of Normandy, controlling a strategic crossroads between the marshes and the coast. Its remains, classified in 1840, illustrate the evolution of medieval military architecture, with a unique ondecagonal dungeon in Europe and a towered enclosure.

The foundation of the castle is attributed to Anslec de Bricquebec, grandson of Rollon, about 942. The seigneury passed to the Bertrans in the 11th century, which made them their principal residence until the 14th century. The castle played a key role during the Hundred Years War: occupied by the Anglo-Navarrais in 1360, taken over by Charles V in 1364, then defended against the English in 1372. In the 15th century, it was returned to Louis d'Estouteville after the Battle of Formigny (1450), before being abandoned in the 16th century for a new and more comfortable castle.

The 14th century enclosure, well preserved, includes a 22-metre-high polygonal dungeon, a clock tower (inlet castle), and round or polygonal towers. The large 13th century Romanesque hall, now transformed into a hotel, once housed the Knights' Hall, decorated with carved capitals. The dungeons of the tower of the Epine and the remains of the canonial chapel recall its use both residential and defensive. The initial motte, 18 meters high, probably supported a circular master tower, replaced by the current dungeon.

In the 17th century, Baronnia passed to Orléans-Longueville, then to the Matignon by marriage. Delayed, the castle was looted during the Revolution. In the 19th century, its elements were partially ceded to the city, including the dungeon and the Clock Tower, today a museum. Queen Victoria visited him in 1857, highlighting his historic appeal. Recent excavations and studies reveal a complex castral organization, with lower court, seigneurial houses, and a defensive system adapted to the progress of artillery.

The honour of Bricquebec, linked to the castle, included fifteen parishes in the northwest of Cotentin, forming a coherent feudal network. The barony extended from Bricquebec to Orglandes, with fiefs scattered as far as Honfleur. This territory reflected the influence of the Bertrans, then of the Paisnels and Estoutevilles, who marked Norman history by their military power and alliance with the crown of France or England according to the times.

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