Château de Guernon-Ranville
| Chateau de Guernon-Ranville | |
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| General information | |
| Coordinates | 49°13′51″N 0°15′54″W / 49.23085°N 0.26505°W |
The château de Guernon-Ranville is located in Le Bas de Ranville in the village of Ranville, in the Calvados region Calvados of Lower Normandy in France.
This private 18th century domain carries the name of the family who were for a long period of time the proprietors of the château. The Château de Guernon-Ranville was once the home of a 19th-century minister, later the holiday resort of art patrons at the beginning of the 20th century and, eventually a field hospital during the allied landings in Normandy in 1944. The château now offers upscale self-catering holiday homes.
The actual date of construction of the Château de Guernon-Ranville is not known. However, taking into account the architectural style of the château and notably the harmony of its façade, the château was built in the 18th century. Its name comes from the family who acquired the fief of Ranville in 1751 and who then added Ranville to their patronymic name, the result of which is Guernon-Ranville
The origin of this family, which is one of the oldest to be found among Norman nobility, derives from:
° in the 8th century, Rollon, considered to be the first Duke of Normandy,
° In the 11th century, Robert de Guernon, one of the « companions at arms » of William the Conqueror during the invasion of the kingdom of England beginning in 1066. In Normandy, Robert possessed several fiefs and estates to which he lent his name. After the conquest of England, William the Conqueror gave Robert more than 50 manor houses, baronies and other domains in different counties of England. Robert settled in Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex, to the northeast of London. The site on which this castle is built is an important attraction for those who appreciate stately homes. Mountfitchet Castle is today classified as Historic Monument. Robert de Guernon is also an ancestor of the Cavendish family, one of the richest and most influential families of England from whom issue the Dukes of Devonshire.
The arms of the Guernon family are « d’azur au leurre d’or, accompagné de deux molettes d’éperon en chef de même ». Azure (the colour blue) symbolises justice and loyalty. The hunting decoy which means «leurre d’or » in French is the hood covering the head of birds of prey used for hunting. It is an emblem of the nobility whose first prerogative is the right to hunt. The « molettes d'éperons » (a type of pierced stars) are the insignia of knighthood.
The château stayed in the Guernon-Ranville family for almost two centuries. It was significantly remodeled in the 19th century by its most illustrious proprietor, the Count and Minister, Martial de Guernon-Ranville.
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