Château de Saint-Just 2.18

The Château de Saint-Just is a Renaissance castle with a park located in the Commune of Saint-Just near the town of Vernon in the Eure Department, in the region of upper Normandy, France. It was classified as an historic monument of France in 1995. The park is classified by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France. The park is open to the public on certain hours from June first until August 1.HistoryThe first chateau was built in the 13th century, but only a few foundations remain. Near the end of the 16th century, Jacques de Croixmare built a new residence on the site. A record of the property in the fief of Saint-Just, written in 1608, mentions a manor, common buildings, an orangerie, a garden and a kitchen garden. It also included a chapel, two mills, vineyards, and an avenue planted with elm trees.In 1654 the last descendants of the Croixmare family sold the house to Jean de Savary, the Secretary to the King of France and the Master of the Waters and Forests of Normandy. Jean de Savary and his descendants transformed the park into a French formal garden, adding water features and a kitchen garden. A plan from 1744 shows the chateau and park as they looked in the 18th century.In 1775 the chateau was sold to the Duke de Penthièvre, who also owned the nearby château de Bizy. The Duke turned the old lodging into a rest home for his elderly servants. In the park he constructed a dairy and an icehouse, as well as a clinic. The rest home was occupied until the death of the Duke in 1793. The house was nationalized during the French Revolution, and then sold to Sébastien-Gilles Huet de Guerville. He built a tomb for his wife in the park, using architectural elements of the mausoleum of Lancelot de la Garenne (1595), coming from the church of the village of Mercey, Eure.