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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Manor House of Saint-Gilles-de-Livet, originally classified as a tithe attic in 1927, was built at the end of the 15th century after the Hundred Years War, a period of active reconstruction in Normandy. This seigneurial house made of wood, typical of the period, belonged to the Maillart family (XVth–XVth centuries) before moving to Le Vaillant by marriage in 1728. Its architecture, with corbellations and sculptures, reveals its noble use before its conversion into an agricultural building in the 18th century.

The building, inscribed in the Historic Monuments, features a five-span south façade with a Saint-André cross decoration and sliding shuttered windows, characteristic of medieval houses. Inside, two rooms per level were served by backed chimneys, now missing. The less-worked northern façade retains traces of an outdoor gallery and staircase, while nearby, a 16th-century chapel (Saint-Gilles) and a winery testify to local agricultural activity.

Turned into a stable in the 18th century, the manor house was restored from 1991 to its original appearance, including its southern façade. The site, linked to an ancient feudal motte, also includes an apple press and a private church, still operated for the production of cider. These elements illustrate the evolution of a seigneurial estate towards a Norman farm.

The initial confusion over his function (slide house) was corrected in 1971 by Yves Lescroart, who identified his marks of seigneurial house. The mansion, located 700 m from Rumesnil and near the Dorette River, thus embodies the rural and architectural history of post-medieval Normandy, between reconstruction, cidric activity and preserved heritage.

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