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Origin and history

Franquetot Manor House, formerly known as Vassy, is a fortified house dating back to the 15th century, which was radically redesigned in the 16th and 19th centuries. Located on the former town of Carquebut (now integrated with Sainte-Mère-Église, in the English Channel), it is characterized by a 15th century tower with murderous and mâchicoulis, as well as a house in square with 17th and 19th century windows and skylights. Two 16th century portals and an armored fireplace dated 1691 – probably from the castle of Brévands – complete this architectural ensemble.

The site was owned by the Buret family between the 13th and 16th centuries, before moving to the Franquetot (XVIth-15th centuries). At the beginning of the 17th century, Louis de Franquetot rebuilt the communes, the farm and the noble house, while in the 19th century, Jules Lécuyer (after 1844) and botanist Pierre-Etienne-Joseph Lafosse (second half of the 19th century) made major changes, including the development of the park. A chapel dedicated to St Peter, now destroyed, was once part of the estate.

Ranked Historic Monument by order of 1 June 1995, the mansion protects its home, its tower, the facades of the communes, a bakery, a vegetable garden transformed into a pleasant garden, and a pond. The site now houses a D-Day Collins museum, a tea room, guest rooms and a cottage, perpetuating its anchoring in local and tourist heritage.

The armored chimney plate of 1691 bore the arms of Guy-César de La Luzerne (family owner of the seigneury of Brévands from 1572 to 1744) and his wife Madeleine-Françoise de Pommereuil, illustrating the noble alliances of the time. The commons include a cart with arches in the middle, while painted decorations from the early seventeenth century remain inside.

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