Gratot Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

A few kilometres from Coutances, Gratot Castle is a fortified complex surrounded by water-filled moats, whose history spans eight centuries. A fief of a family named de Gratot from the 11th to the early 13th century, it was confiscated by Philippe Auguste in 1204, at the time of the conquest of Normandy, then passed to the d'Argouges family in 1251. The latter enlarged and transformed it over more than five hundred years; the lordship was elevated to a marquisate in the 17th century. The site includes a postern gate, a manor house, two towers, outbuildings, a 17th-century linking building and an 18th-century pavilion, as well as an isolated 13th-century tower linked to the legend of the Fontaine à la Fée. In 1777, the castle was ceded on a life annuity (viager) to the Bishop of Coutances, and was then abandoned. Bought in 1918 by Lemerre, a Parisian publisher, and in 1924 by the farmer Jean Tiphaigne, it has been the subject of a voluntary restoration project since 1968. Its ruins, outbuildings, postern gate and moats have been listed as historic monuments since 4 August 1970. The site is open to the public all year round.