Château de Gratot
Encyclopedia
The château de Gratot
is a ruined medieval castle in the commune of Gratot
, in the Manche
département in Basse-Normandie
(France
).
It is located only a few kilometers from the English Channel
.
The castle was neglected in the 19th century, and was used as a fodder warehouse for local farmers. It was definitively abandoned at the start of the 20th century. Since 1968 it has been recovering its past glories owing to a team of volunteers who restore it lovingly. The main restoration work took place in the late 60's and 70's, requiring tonnes of rubble to be removed from the cellars and ground floor, and the castle grounds to be cleared of undergrowth. Since then some buildings, including two of the towers, have been rebuilt, including adding wooden roofs to the towers and some buildings. Historical documents and 19th century paintings showing the castle as a romantic ruin
were used to guide reconstruction efforts. The 18th century pavilion has been fully restored with roof, floors, a staircase, windows and electricity, allowing it to be used for exhibitions and cultural events. The latest renovation work concentrates on the formal gardens: only the shape of the gardens can currently be seen, with no paths or planting
Nearly visitors went to the castle during 2003. It is now classed as a Monument historique
(Historic monument) by the French Ministry of Culture. It is open to the public all year round. During the summer months there is a welcome desk and gift shop: the remainder of the year guidebooks are available to visitors to guide themselves around.
. Large windows open into the ground floor, and high spire light
s at the first floor.
was erected in the 15th century and has a medieval look. A sudden narrowing in the spiral staircase
prevents two attackers ascending simultaneously. The entry to the cellars opens at the bottom of the tower. At the top of the tower is a guards' room where remnants of medieaval wall paintings may still be seen.
Another angle tower from the medieval period (13th century) remains: the door has been walled up.
s and gargoyle
s.
According to the legend, a lord of Argouges met a very beautiful young woman at a well. He immediately fell in love, and asked her to marry him. The beauty said she was a fairy, and would accept to be his wife only if he would never say the word "death". The lord promised. One day, during a feast at the castle, the lord was upset at having to wait while his wife was dressing and said: ”Madam, you are very slow in your tasks! You would be good to send to fetch death, as you take so much time.” Then the fairy shouted, climbed onto the window sill and disappeared, leaving her handprint on the sill.
This legend is known as the legend of Melusina and was probably appropriated by the Argouges family to add prestige, or to explain some event in the family's past.
Château de Gratot
The château de Gratot is a ruined medieval castle in the commune of Gratot, in the Manche département in Basse-Normandie .It is located only a few kilometers from the English Channel.-History:...
is a ruined medieval castle in the commune of Gratot
Gratot
Gratot is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France.-See also:*Communes of the Manche department...
, in the Manche
Manche
Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
département in Basse-Normandie
Basse-Normandie
Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
).
It is located only a few kilometers from the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
.
History
The first château de Gratot was built during the 14th century, but underwent many transformations until the 18th century. It was constructed by the family of Argouges, barons of Gratot: they sold the castle in 1771. The castle is built in a number of styles, the most recent addition being a pavilion built in the 18th century.The castle was neglected in the 19th century, and was used as a fodder warehouse for local farmers. It was definitively abandoned at the start of the 20th century. Since 1968 it has been recovering its past glories owing to a team of volunteers who restore it lovingly. The main restoration work took place in the late 60's and 70's, requiring tonnes of rubble to be removed from the cellars and ground floor, and the castle grounds to be cleared of undergrowth. Since then some buildings, including two of the towers, have been rebuilt, including adding wooden roofs to the towers and some buildings. Historical documents and 19th century paintings showing the castle as a romantic ruin
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
were used to guide reconstruction efforts. The 18th century pavilion has been fully restored with roof, floors, a staircase, windows and electricity, allowing it to be used for exhibitions and cultural events. The latest renovation work concentrates on the formal gardens: only the shape of the gardens can currently be seen, with no paths or planting
Nearly visitors went to the castle during 2003. It is now classed as a Monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
(Historic monument) by the French Ministry of Culture. It is open to the public all year round. During the summer months there is a welcome desk and gift shop: the remainder of the year guidebooks are available to visitors to guide themselves around.
Main entry
A little bridge with three arches spans the moat and gives access to the porch. The outhouses are located on both sides of the postern. A tower is raised in the west corner.Residence
The main residence building, now in 18th century style, originally had three floors and nearly fifteen rooms. The roof is à la MansartFrançois Mansart
François Mansart was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into Baroque architecture of France...
. Large windows open into the ground floor, and high spire light
Spire light
Spire light , the term given to the windows in a spire which are found in all periods of English Gothic architecture, and in French spires form a very important feature in the composition....
s at the first floor.
Round tower
The round tower of the castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
was erected in the 15th century and has a medieval look. A sudden narrowing in the spiral staircase
Spiral staircase
Spiral staircase may refer to:* A type of stairway characterized by its spiral shape* The Spiral Staircase , a 1946 American psychological thriller film* The Spiral Staircase , a 1975 British film, a remake of the 1946 film...
prevents two attackers ascending simultaneously. The entry to the cellars opens at the bottom of the tower. At the top of the tower is a guards' room where remnants of medieaval wall paintings may still be seen.
Another angle tower from the medieval period (13th century) remains: the door has been walled up.
The Fairy tower
The Fairy tower was constructed at the end of the 15th century, and is supported by strong buttresses. The base is octagonal, and is finished by a rectangular room: the roof has two panels. The top is decoreted by balusterBaluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s and gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s.
According to the legend, a lord of Argouges met a very beautiful young woman at a well. He immediately fell in love, and asked her to marry him. The beauty said she was a fairy, and would accept to be his wife only if he would never say the word "death". The lord promised. One day, during a feast at the castle, the lord was upset at having to wait while his wife was dressing and said: ”Madam, you are very slow in your tasks! You would be good to send to fetch death, as you take so much time.” Then the fairy shouted, climbed onto the window sill and disappeared, leaving her handprint on the sill.
This legend is known as the legend of Melusina and was probably appropriated by the Argouges family to add prestige, or to explain some event in the family's past.
