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Origin and history

The Manor of the Park is an ancient fortified house built at the end of the 15th or early 16th century on the site of a castral motte shaved in the 13th century by order of Philippe Auguste. This site, originally occupied by a strong house from the 11th–12th centuries, was transformed into a mansion after the destruction of the primitive castle. The fief, first held by the family of Aubigny before 1204, passed to the d'Argences after the attachment of Normandy to the crown of France. The king then authorized the construction of a manor house to replace the demolished castle.

In the 15th century, during the Hundred Years' War, the mansion changed hands several times because of Franco-English conflicts. Collibeaux de Criquebeuf, faithful to the king of France, was plundered by Henri V of England, who handed him over to Jehan d'Argouges and then to Thomas V of Clamorgan, both of whom joined the English. The fief then belonged to the families of La Rivière and Thieuville from the 16th century. Gilles de Thieuville, squire, was certified in 1567, followed by his descendant Jacques in 1612, who paid tribute to the king for an estate including mill, dovecote and chapel.

The manorial complex, completed around 1600, includes a main house flanked by a cylindrical tower (XVth–XVIth centuries), a Gothic chapel (circa 1450), communes, moats and a fossilized garden. The chapel preserves fragments of painted coats of arms, including those of Thieuville and Mesnildot. After successive marriage alliances (Pierrepont, Thère), the mansion passed in 1802 to the Marquis de Sainte-Suzanne, who turned it into a farm. Partly listed as historical monuments in 2000, it was restored from 1998 by its owners, Mr. and Mrs. Giard.

The main house, started around 1400, was enlarged between 1500 and 1540, then completed around 1600. The courtyard, formerly accessible by a carretier door in the middle of the wall today, is home to a 16th century cartretery and a chapel with Gothic windows. The commons, built between the 15th and 17th centuries, complement this defensive and agricultural ensemble, witness to the architectural and social changes of medieval and modern Normandy.

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