Fire and reconstruction 1741 (≈ 1741)
Roof in pavilion replaced after the fire.
vers 1780
Decoration by Revelion
Decoration by Revelion vers 1780 (≈ 1780)
Alcove room wallpapers.
10 avril 1974
First entry MH
First entry MH 10 avril 1974 (≈ 1974)
Fronts, roofs and lounges protected.
19 avril 2005
Classification of decors
Classification of decors 19 avril 2005 (≈ 2005)
Alcove room and cabinet classified.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Fronts and roofs; the staircase with its wooden ramp; the following rooms with their decor: large and small living room on the ground floor; the two factories known as small Trianon and small Holland; the dovecote (cf. B 16, 19, 26): entry by order of 10 April 1974 - The access aisle; the courtyard of honour, including the facades and roofs of the two communes bordering it and the wall connecting them; the west floor with its fence wall and the facades and roofs of the two garden pavilions at the ends; the dance round (cad. B 7, 14, 16-19, 27): registration by order of 21 December 1989 - The entire castle; the western side aisle of the park (Box B 16, placed le Château, 21, placedit Avenue): inscription by order of 13 December 2004 - The alcove room and the adjoining cabinet with their decors of wallpapers, located on the first floor of the castle (Box B 301, placed the Castle): classification by decree of 19 April 2005
Key figures
Henri Sallambier - Drafter
Suspected author of arabesques of wallpapers.
Origin and history
Villers-en-Ouche Manor House, located in the town of Villers-en-Ouche (La Ferté-en-Ouche, Normandy), is a monument whose history is marked by two major reconstruction phases. The present castle is based on a large 17th century work, from which remain the outbuildings, the court of honor, and a large vegetable garden. After a fire in 1741, the roof in the pavilion was replaced by the current roof, while significant changes took place under Louis XVI, including the redistribution of rooms and the transformation of windows.
In the 4th quarter of the 18th century, the park was enlarged and redesigned according to the canons of the English garden: the terraces gave way to a landscaped park, punctuated with factories (including the small Trianon and the little Holland) and a dance round. Around 1780, the Réveillon manufacture, famous for its wallpapers, decorates the alcove room on the first floor and its adjoining cabinet. The arabesque motifs, probably designed by Henri Sallambier, a genre specialist, bear witness to the artistic refinement of the period.
The monument is subject to numerous protections under the Historic Monuments: inscription of facades, roofs and interior elements (living rooms, staircase, dovecote) in 1974, followed by the courtyard of honour, pavilions and the dance circle in 1989. In 2004, the castle in its entirety and a driveway of the park were registered, while the alcove room and its cabinet, with their wallpaper decorations, were classified in 2005. Today, the estate belongs to a private company and retains traces of its aristocratic and landscaped past.
The site is part of a territory historically linked to the Bec-Hellouin Abbey, on which the land once depended. Its architecture and layout reflect the evolution of tastes and techniques between the beginning and the end of the eighteenth century, mixing classical heritage and pre-Romantic influences. The successive protections highlight the heritage value of its interior decorations, including wallpapers, and its park, a characteristic example of the picturesque gardens of the late Old Regime.
