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Origin and history

The Grenneville Pavilion is a house built in the late 15th or early 16th century, and remodeled in the 17th and 18th centuries. Located in Crasville in the Manche department, it is 250 metres northeast of Notre-Dame de Grenneville Church. This historic monument partially inscribed in 1994 features a mixture of medieval and classical architectural elements, including a 15th to 16th century staircase and a granite fireplace decorated with 17th century coats of arms.

The initial construction is attributed to Guillaume Murdrac (or Murdrac), who reportedly built the tower and left part of the house around 1463, when he was mentioned as a resident of the mansion. His descendant Nicolas de Murdrac, husband of Madeleine Kadot (or Cadot), reportedly added the right side of the building. Their weapons appear on the mantle of a chimney, testifying to their connection to the place. In 1710 Madeleine Kadot obtained permission to erect a chapel there, which had now disappeared.

In the 18th century, the last male heir of the family, Felix Meurdac, lord of Grenneville, was killed in the war in 1760. The following year, his sister Marie-Françoise Murdrac married the Marquis Pierre-Raymond de Pierrepont, marking the end of the Meurdrac lineage on this estate. The mansion retains remarkable elements such as an adorned double door, a country-side arcade, and the ruins of a dovecote, protected since 1994.

The site, located at an altitude of 25 meters, offers from its court of honor an unobstructed view of the sea. The facades, roofs, the staircase with screws and the granite fireplace on the ground floor, as well as the carriage doors of the communes, illustrate the different phases of construction and beautification of the pavilion. The courtyard, surrounded by commons, has retained two characteristic carriage doors.

The building reflects the architectural and social evolution of a Norman seigneury over nearly three centuries. Its partial inscription in historical monuments in 1994 highlights its heritage interest, mixing medieval heritage, Renaissance modifications and lighting. The disappearance of the chapel in the 18th century and the transmission of the estate to the Pierrepont family marked a transition in its history.

Available sources, including Wikipedia and the Merimée base, confirm its status as a protected monument and its anchoring in the historical landscape of Lower Normandy, now integrated into the Normandy region. The pavilion remains a testimony of lifestyles and seigneurial power between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

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