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Origin and history

Gonneville Manor House is a former fortified house built between the 16th and early 17th centuries, located in the commune of Saint-Jacques-de-Néhou, in the Manche department of Normandy. This monument, partly listed as historical monuments since 1977, illustrates the defensive architecture of the period, with a modest house and a Henry IV style pavilion, supplemented by commons and a pigeon house. Its facades, roofs, and monumental chimneys testify to its heritage importance.

The history of the manor house is linked to the Pitteboult family, originally from Saint-Martin-d At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Jehan Pitteboult settled on the lands of Gonneville, followed by his descendants like Jacques Pitteboult († before 1554), squire and seigneur of Gonneville, also Viscount of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. His three sons, Julien, Jehan and Pierre, inherited the seigneuries of La Roquelle, Gonneville and Graffard. The present house would have been raised under Henry IV by Charles Pigache, lord of Gonneville in the seventeenth century.

From 1685 to 1829, the mansion belonged to the Beaudrap family. The site retains defensive elements typical of the vassories of the era, such as snout windows and skylights adorned with balls. The commons, including an arched cartage in the middle of the hanger, frame an inner courtyard. The whole, protected since 1977, reflects both a residential and agricultural function, characteristic of Norman manors of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The official protection of the mansion covers its facades, roofs, monumental chimneys and dovecote. These elements, dated from the 16th and 17th centuries, highlight the architectural evolution of the site, moving from a defensive structure to a seigneurial residence. The Gonneville mansion remains a representative example of Normandy's rural heritage, marked by the social and political transformations of the Renaissance and modern times.

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