Manoir du Désert, Listed historic monument in Honfleur, Normandy, France
The Manoir du Désert is a late medieval manor house set on a hill in Honfleur, in Normandy. The ground floor is built from flint and limestone, the upper floor is framed in timber, and a tower with a spiral staircase leads up to the oriol, a watch room overlooking the Seine estuary.
The manor was built at the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century by the Le Danois family, who made their fortune supplying warships for the French crown. It was listed as a protected monument in 1928, then donated to the Société du Vieux Honfleur in 1968 before the town of Honfleur took over its management in 1973.
The walls of the oriol, the watchtower room at the top of the manor, are covered in engravings of ships made by sailors over several centuries. These drawings show vessels that traveled the Seine estuary from the 16th to the 19th century and can be seen during guided tours.
The manor is not open every day and welcomes visitors mainly during special events such as European Heritage Days or local cultural festivals. Guided tours are organized in small groups, so it is worth checking the schedule with the Honfleur tourist office before your visit.
The name 'Désert' does not refer to a desert landscape but to cleared land: the Le Danois family cut down part of a forest between Honfleur and Gonneville-sur-Honfleur to create farmland, and called themselves 'sieur du Désert' because of it. In 2018, part of the tower collapsed, which led to the manor being included in a national program identifying historic buildings at risk.
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