Establishment of the park 1050-1057 (≈ 1054)
Founded by Geoffroy de Montbray, Bishop of Coutances.
1251-1274
*Black Book*
*Black Book* 1251-1274 (≈ 1263)
Description of the developments by Jean d的Essay.
1789
Post-Revolution Division
Post-Revolution Division 1789 (≈ 1789)
Share of the original 102 hectares.
2 novembre 1988
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 2 novembre 1988 (≈ 1988)
Protection of remains and landscape elements.
1996
Start of restoration sites
Start of restoration sites 1996 (≈ 1996)
Three Valleys Project by the APRIL Association.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The park, including the remains of the enclosure wall, the two remaining doors, the guard house, the cooler, the dykes and ponds, and excluding all other buildings for residential or agricultural use (Coutances A 37-39, 42, 44-46, 49, 52, 53, 64, 66, 68-73, 90-92, 99, 121, 122, 142, 145, 151-158, 208, 209; BC 17 to 23 ; Courty D1 201 to 204, 208, 211, 589, 591, 593, 622 to 625; Saint-Pierre-de-Coutances AB 1 to 6, 8 to 27, 40 to 54, 57, 59 to 78, 89, 90; AC 2 to 61, 63, 64, 66, 67): registration by order of 2 November 1988
Key figures
Geoffroy de Montbray - Bishop of Coutances (XI century)
Founded the park between 1050 and 1057.
Jean d'Essay - Bishop of Coutances (11th century)
Author of the *Black Book* describing the park.
Origin and history
The Medieval Park of the Bishop of Coutances, located in Saint-Pierre-de-Coutances, was founded between 1050 and 1057 by Bishop Geoffroy de Montbray. This 102-hectare park, intended for hunting and breeding exotic animals, was then reserved for an elite. It consisted of ponds, mills, a double palisade and plantations of oaks and beech trees, as described in the Black Book (1251-1274) by Bishop Jean d'Essay. Until the Revolution, the Bishops of Coutances maintained it without profoundly changing it.
After the French Revolution, the park was divided and became the first public garden of Coutances. Today, her heart is a nature reserve closed to the public for preservation, but visitable on request. It houses a medieval cooler (financed by the Vatican), a large water body, and animals such as deer, peacocks and geese, reintroduced to evoke its cynegetic past. A ferruginous fountain, formerly therapeutic, and potential remains of a Roman villa (recovered bricks) were also identified.
The park has included protected features since 1988: enclosure wall, historic doors (Grande Porte, Porte Saint-Lô), cooler, ponds and dykes. Since 1996, integration projects (the Three Valleys) have restored the surroundings, such as the Prepont Valley. A project to open up to the public is under consideration, while Latin parchments have partially reconstructed the original fauna and flora, including English deer (circus).
Unique in France as a listed medieval park, it bears witness to the influence of the bishops of Coutances, mixing religious history, cynegetic management and natural heritage. The present owners have reconstructed a part of the wood, formerly intended for shipbuilding or for the structure of the cathedral. Traces of a feudal castle (not localized) and a Gallo-Roman occupation (VIth century) add to its historical complexity.
Announcements
Please log in to post a review