The current castle is located near the site of a medieval fortification erected in 1194 during the time of Richard the Lionheart, Duke of Normandy and King of England. This fortified castle was destroyed in 1218 by the French following the conquest of Normandy by Philippe Auguste. We can still observe some vestiges in the park of the current construction.
Likewise, from the previous neo-classical castle, only an 18th century chapel dedicated to Saint Bernard remains. Aimé-Louis du Bosc sold the estate in 1844 to Baron Levavasseur, a captain of industry who had the large neo-Gothic-style spinning mill built today in ruins and who acquired the Gothic Abbey of Fontaine-Guérard, both located in the same commune.
The whole building was completely rebuilt from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century in neo-Louis XIII style. The Parisian architect Duchesne, then the Rouen architect Lacire, were the prime contractors of the new castle. Construction continued mainly after the latter's death, when his son succeeded him. Several buyers succeeded one another until 1937, when the last owner Fernand Colombel, without an heir, bequeathed his estate to the Salvation Army.
In 1952, the Salvation Army created a recovery and assistance center through work which had the particularity of accommodating several hundred relegated on parole, and this until the abolition of the additional penalty of relegation in 19702. In 2013, the Salvation Army sold its estate to a private Russian owner.
Translated by Google •
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