Mission Manche: Ravenoville, the Origins of Pierres d’Histoire

The Discovery of Ravenoville

In April 2012, the property appeared almost by chance. Seen from the rear, its silhouette was both majestic and dilapidated, bearing witness to a rich architecture whose original purpose was still difficult to understand.

The dovecote, the first clue

Just beside it, a hexagonal dovecote provided the first answers. It was likely a manor farm, organised around its farmyard. A remarkable feature stood out: richly decorated brickwork, a rarity in the region.

First Visit

No fence, only a few cows. We ventured inside, stepped over a barbed wire fence… and were met with total surprise. The ornamentation proved even richer up close. The dovecote revealed its full height and grandeur. A building set at a right angle, though cut back by two thirds and covered with corrugated metal, still hinted at a former elegance.

The Purchase

Set slightly apart from the historic buildings stood a bourgeois house dating from the post-war reconstruction, seemingly part of the same plot. We knocked on the door. A charming elderly lady opened—it was indeed the owner. We spoke of our work and our desire to save these buildings. True to her Norman roots, she took her time. Step by step, at a very gentle pace, an agreement was reached to purchase this magnificent ensemble.

The Reality Check

Enthusiasm quickly gave way to reality. The dovecote had lost half of its roof. A broken elm beam hung precariously in the middle of the circular space. The stone staircase stood by sheer miracle. The cellar overflowed with damp, yet the cider bottles were still there.

A Severely Altered Manor

The left-hand section of the manor had seen its roof burn down thirty years earlier. A temporary timber frame and mechanical tiles had replaced the original structure, whose outline could still be guessed on the walls. The central section served as agricultural storage: two former floors remained several metres above ground, beneath a roof more than half gone. A fine stone staircase, of which only the first steps survived, confirmed that this was indeed an old manor house.

Forgotten Outbuildings

The right-hand section retained its original roof, but its façade had been disfigured by openings made necessary by its use as a cowshed. On the ground, an old mechanical slurry conveyor system remained. At right angles, another building, forlorn beneath its corrugated metal lean-to, nonetheless revealed the same brick decoration, bearing witness to its former elegance.