Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Martainville, built at the end of the 15th century by Jacques Le Pelletier, a rich shipowner and echevin of Rouen, embodies the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Acquired in 1482, the 25-hectare fief saw the rise of a symmetrical house, flanked by four towers and decorated with black varnished bricks arranged in geometric patterns. This innovative plan, with a central corridor serving independent rooms, will inspire other Norman castles like Chenonceau. The castle, conceived as a prestigious rural residence, reflects the social ascension of its sponsor, who came from the merchant bourgeoisie in Rouenne.

When Jacques Le Pelletier died in 1511, his nephew inherited the estate and undertook major transformations: filling the ditches, widening the windows, and adding a chapel above the entrance gate. The family, anobligated in 1571 as Martainville, kept the castle until the 18th century. After a period of abandonment and depredation during the 1870 war, the state purchased the estate in 1906, avoiding its destruction. Ranked as a historical monument in 1889, it was restored in the 20th century before welcoming, from 1961, the Musée des Traditions et Arts Normands, founded by Daniel Lavallée.

The museum, labeled Musée de France, presents an exceptional collection of 15,000 objects illustrating daily life in Haute-Normandie from the 15th to the 19th century. Regional furniture, traditional costumes, ceramics, and agricultural tools are displayed in reconstituted interiors. Donations, such as that of the Buquet family (shown handkerchiefs), have enriched the funds. The castle, with its classified farm and Renaissance-inspired gardens, offers a unique setting for discovering Norman crafts and lifestyles. Its symmetrical plan and varnished brick decorations make it a rare testimony to the transition architecture between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The history of the castle is also marked by national events, such as the passage of Henry IV in 1590, hunting the troops of the Duke of Parma. In the 17th century, the estate, transformed into a farm, saw its commons enlarged under Louis de Martainville, seigneur living in Versailles. After 1757, the castle passed into the hands of Norman parliamentary families before its gradual abandonment. Saved in extremis by the state, it became a place of memory thanks to successive restorations, including that of Henri Gosselin around 1925, and the development of a reborn garden in 2011.

Today, the museum offers annual temporary exhibitions, often linked to Norman musical history, in partnership with the association L'Espace Musical. The permanent collections, organized by themes (mobilier, textiles, agriculture), highlight regional specificities, such as the Cauchoise haircuts or the faiences of Rouen. The 15th century dovecote, barns, and well, classified in 1931, complete the visit. The site, managed by the Seine-Maritime department, remains a high place of Norman heritage, combining remarkable architecture and living ethnography.

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