Monastic origin XIe siècle (≈ 1150)
Winter manor of the monks of Saint-Wandrille
XIVe–XVe siècles
Construction of houses
Construction of houses XIVe–XVe siècles (≈ 1550)
Three buildings in flint and limestone
1699–1700
Erection of the dovecote
Erection of the dovecote 1699–1700 (≈ 1700)
Dated by registration on the structure
1793
Revolutionary Confiscation
Revolutionary Confiscation 1793 (≈ 1793)
Monastic property seized by the State
11 mars 1999
Registration MH
Registration MH 11 mars 1999 (≈ 1999)
Home and dove protection
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Buildings forming the former North House, with the exception of the East Building and adventitious buildings; the dovecote; the land base of Parcels AE 2 to 9, the eastern part of Parcel AE 11, Parcels AE 12 to 16, including the slopes and enclosure walls: inscription by order of March 11, 1999
Key figures
Moines de Saint-Wandrille - Initial owners
Used the mansion as a winter residence
Famille de parlementaires de Rouen - Post-Revolution Owners
Buyers after the confiscation of 1793
Origin and history
The Manor House of Betteville, located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-l'If in the Seine-Maritime, is a building whose origins date back to the 11th century as a winter mansion of the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille. The present complex comprises three adjoining buildings, built in the 14th and 15th centuries in limestone and flint, including an integrated chapel. These houses, marked by sill bays and interiors transformed in the 18th and 20th centuries, illustrate the architectural evolution of the site.
The estate also includes a dovecote dating from 1699–1700, erected at the hinge of the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as agricultural outbuildings of the 19th century. The ensemble, organized in walled walls (typical rectangular enclosure of Normandy), was initially dedicated to monastic exploitation. Confiscated in 1793 at the time of the Revolution, the mansion then moved to a family of French parliamentarians before becoming a farm.
Ranked a historic monument in 1999, the site protects, among other things, the ancient North Home, the dovecote, and the walls of the enclosures. The tidal barn and monastic buildings recall its link with Romanesque architecture and the seigneurial economy. Today, a private property, the mansion preserves traces of its religious and aristocratic past, between flint, cut stone and slope delimiting the old estate.
The sources underline its role in the Cauchese heritage, between medieval heritage and modern adaptations. The dovecote, marked from the date of 1699, and the spear windows of the 15th to 16th centuries bear witness to the successive phases of construction. The inscription to the historical monuments aims to preserve this rare example of wall-masure associated with a Norman abbey.
