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Origin and history

Le Manoir des Pavements is a 16th-century mansion in Lisieux, Calvados department, Normandy. It stands at number 99-101 on Rue d'Orbec, at the boundary between Lisieux and Beuvillers. This monument illustrates the local Renaissance architecture, with two houses, one of which houses a press and a sculpted decoration characteristic of the period.

The construction of the mansion dates back to the mid-16th century. Its semi-feudal and semi-rustic architecture is distinguished by large roofs evoking a Swiss chalet, beams carved with fantastic heads, and imposing skylights. The interior façade, less severe, features a wooden ground floor pierced with openings, while the entrance doors feature Gothic chambranles decorated with thistle leaves and armorized shields.

The shields carved on the doors reveal the identity of the sponsor: one wears a wheel with eight lines, emblem of the Reue family, native to Lisieux (Lexovian). This family, involved in the construction of the Church of St. James, held judicial offices. Stylistic analysis and dates suggest that Thomas de la Reue, a "short lay" adviser and lieutenant general of the baili d'Évreux, would be at the origin of this construction, perhaps around 1561.

The Pavements mansion is partially protected as historical monuments. The facades and roofs were registered by decree of 8 May 1968, while the small house, the barn, and the communes (pressor, bread oven, old barn) were registered on 15 December 2003. These protections highlight the heritage value of this witness to Renaissance civil architecture in Normandy.

The interior and exterior decor of the mansion reflects Renaissance artistic influences, with persistent Gothic motifs. The fantastic heads carved on beams, mouldings and skylights recall the ancient houses of Lisieux and the castles of Pays d'Auge. The set offers a remarkable example of the easy habitat of the region in the 16th century, mixing residential, agricultural (press) and symbolic (scumbent) functions.

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