Seine-Maritime: the Catel manor, testimony to the Norman Middle Ages, is reborn thanks to its owner

Nestled in the heart of the Pays de Caux, in the town of Écretteville-lès-Baons (Seine-Maritime), the Catel manor is impressive. The massive silhouette of this “fortified house” built from 1270 and surrounded by a moat, witness to the moat supposed to protect it over the centuries, attracts the eye to the heart of this green setting.

“It was long described as a fortified farm, when in fact it was one of the rare places of high justice in Normandy belonging to the abbots of Fécamp, whose advantage was to be located halfway on the main axis between the Channel port and Rouen,” recalls its owner Frédéric Toussaint, to whom we owe the resurrection of a site condemned to oblivion and destruction.

A Parisian passionate about the Middle Ages for as long as he can remember, he embarked on the adventure in 2000, sparing no effort or resources. Sitting in the former guard room transformed into a dining room, the recent municipal councilor of his adopted village smiles when asked what this all-consuming passion cost him. “I don’t really want to know how much I put into the mansion,” evades the man who nevertheless did not hesitate to invest his savings and take out a 7-figure loan to launch work on this vast building.

Fully classified as a historic monument

Abandoned for a long time, it suffered an uncertain fate after the Revolution. Sold as national property, it was transformed into an agricultural operation, relying only on the thickness of its walls for its survival. “It was above all the size of the land surrounding it, around a hundred hectares in one piece, which saved it. At the time, the average size of a farm was 3 or 4 ha. This is why the widow of a rich Fécamp shipowner bought it, preventing the infamous quarryman who dismantled the Jumièges abbey from subjecting it to the same fate,” explains the man who is preparing the new season of a site completely classified as a Historic Monument.

Which also allows it to benefit from subsidies from the State and local authorities to continue the many phases of this almost perpetual project. The one in progress concerns the 13th century surrounding walls which were in danger of collapsing, the vast stone entrance which will find its immense wooden portal and the small common adjoining the south wall of this complex with a rectangular plan flanked by imposing corner towers. For this work, the cost of which is around 500,000 euros, Stéphane Bern and his Heritage Loto have also accelerated things.

For 2026, Frédéric Toussaint has chosen as his guiding principle the 15th century poet François Villon, author of the famous “Ballad of the Hanged”. “It’s a sort of nod to one of the graffiti found in the old cells where there are almost 300 of them,” explains the owner, pointing out the most spectacular ones. Testimonies straight from the chalk of those who came to be judged there, risking death or banishment.

A disastrous destiny that it will be possible to forget during the summer, seated at the medieval bar which will be open several times. Other events and conferences will punctuate this season where cruise passengers from Rouen are expected in large numbers. With one objective, to exceed the mark of 5,000 annual visitors and become one of the essential tourism destinations in Pays de Caux, and more widely in Normandy.