Domaine de Beaurepaire, Château in Martinvast, Normandy, France
Domaine de Beaurepaire is a Renaissance and Gothic Revival château spread across an extensive property in Normandy. The main residence stands alongside numerous outbuildings, greenhouses, working facilities, stables, wooded areas, and farmland.
The château was built between 1579 and 1581, replacing a medieval manor destroyed in 1398 during the Hundred Years' War. Over time, it underwent several modifications, particularly during the era of the Second Empire.
Empress Marie-Louise visited twice, on 29 May 1811 and 27 August 1813, received by Count Alexandre du Moncel. In 1850 the government set up an agricultural school farm on the estate and gave its direction to du Moncel. Embroidered arms of the Pourtalès family hang in the gallery.
The château stands 800 metres south-east of Notre-Dame church in Martinvast, in the Manche department. The estate is private and not open for regular visits; access is only possible on guided tours organised at certain times of the year. Check opening arrangements in advance before travelling.
The circular keep is a 14th-century structure, not 15th-century: Berthole du Moncel kept it when he rebuilt the Renaissance logis in 1579-1581, surrounded then by moats and marshes. The moats were filled in and the ponds removed during the 19th-century works, and no trace of the earlier motte remains on the site.
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