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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Douville Manor House, located in Mandeville-en-Bessin in Calvados, is an ancient fortified house dating mainly from the seventeenth century, although its tower and cellars were earlier (XIVth–XVth century). The ensemble, organized around a square courtyard, includes a seigneurial house, agricultural buildings and a defensive tower. It illustrates Norman rural architecture, combining residential and agricultural functions under the Old Regime.

Originally, the estate belonged to the Hélyes family, anobligated in the 15th century, before passing by marriage to Guillaume Desson in 1693, who gave him his present name. The mansion was then modernized, with a new house built for the masters, while the old one became the home of the farmer. The property, exploited for cattle rearing and the production of salted butter, reflected the prosperity of the large estates of Bessin.

In the 18th century, the estate changed hands several times. In 1763 Joseph-François Desson sold it to Léonord-Charles Radulph, lieutenant general of police at Caen, who received seigneurial rents there until his death in 1794. The mansion, a symbol of the social hierarchies of the time, was then passed on to the Hue family of Mathan, who kept it until 1920 without residing there. Farmers continued to exploit the land, with a declining agricultural labour force in the 20th century.

The architecture of the manor house, typical of Norman manor farms, combines defensive elements (square tower, mâchicoulis, scauguettes) and residential elements (calcareous stone logis, d ́ardoise roofs, open-plan windows). The monumental 17th century portal, similar to those of the region, marks the main entrance. Inside, the distribution of spaces (common room, kitchen, master's rooms) and vaulted cellars testify to daily life under the Old Regime.

Ranked a historic monument in 1927, the Douville mansion embodies Normandy's rural and seigneurial history. Its decline as a noble residence in the 19th century and its transformation into an exclusive farm in the 20th century reflect the economic and social changes in the region. Today, there remains an architectural testimony of the links between Earth nobility and the peasant world in Bessin.

The site, located 2 km from the church of Mandeville-en-Bessin, overlooks a characteristic bocager landscape, close to the cliffs of the coast. Its pond, its agricultural buildings (granges, stables, pigeons) and its remains (blangery, burets) recall its agricultural past, marked by dairy farming until 1995. The mansion, although private, retains a major heritage value for local history.

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