France · 13th century
The château de Gratot is a ruined medieval castle in the commune of Gratot, in the Manche département of Normandy, France. It has been classified by the French Government as a Monument historique.
It is located only a few kilometers from the English Channel.
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 Historical documents and 19th-century paintings showing the castle as a romantic ruin were used to guide reconstruction efforts.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 12,600 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.
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.
The main residence building, now in 18th century style, originally had three floors and nearly fifteen rooms. The roof is à la Mansart. Large windows open into the ground floor, and high spire lights at the first floor.
Text adapted from “Château de Gratot” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Château de Gratot ranks #5,710 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #509 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1300, it is older than 61% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,356 times in the last 60 days, more than 59% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. It is one of the 33 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Normandy. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →