Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Carel mansion, located in Saint-Michel-de-Livet (Calvados), is a wooden and torchi building dating from the second half of the 15th century, between 1460 and 1480, after the Hundred Years War. It belonged to a fief shared between Saint-Michel-de-Livet and Mesnil-Bacley. Its architecture, close to Lisieux's buildings, reflects a desire to imitate local models, with peculiarities such as an old opening of origin between two poles and a long-posted frame perhaps resumed from the 14th century.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the mansion moved from the family of Neufville to the Bonn child family by marriage, then to the Gosseys in 1789. The current 18th-century staircase replaces a spiral staircase with original woodwork. In the 19th century, Arcisse de Caumont criticized works deemed severe, partially altering its medieval character. The manor house is listed at the Historic Monuments on 15 December 2003 for its exceptional architectural interest, including its corbellation with spring boxes and its structural archaisms.

The house features a rare wood-pan structure, with elements such as a threshold sole and upstairs doors without a gallery. These features, combining 14th-century traditions and 15th-century innovations, make it a unique testimony to post-medieval Norman architecture. The site is now located at 566 Chemin de Livet, in the town of Livarot-Pays-d'Auge, after the municipal merger of 2016.

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