Association de Sauvegarde du

CHATEAU DE GAVRAY

Period 1980-2006

1980-1984 President: Bernard BECK

1984-2006 President: Jocelyne LEPARMENTIER

In 1976, as soon as she arrived from the north of the Cotentin region, a new teacher from the Gavray secondary school, Jocelyne Leparmentier, took a look at the surroundings.

She then discovers "the castle", a simple name on a map and as she puts it: "two sections of walls in the middle of brushwood, brambles, ferns... ».

However, this is what triggered the rediscovery of the site.

In 1980, the first brush was cleared by volunteers. More important remains and the outline of buildings on the ground are then revealed. The Association for the Preservation of the Château de Gavray was born.

The first archaeological excavation took place in July 1982.

They continued every summer until 1990 and then gave rise to a master's thesis in history and archaeology.

These excavations were rewarded, among others, in 1986 by the third prize in the competition for voluntary worksites organized by the National Fund for Historic Monuments and Sites.

In parallel with the excavations, the association took care of developing the interest of the site and its surroundings.

Thus a route around the Château is imagined with a number of stations where physical activities can be carried out.

This is the "sports course".

After the excavations, it was important to preserve the excavated structures and display them to the public. An ambitious development project was born:

- Signposting of routes.

- Explanatory panels.

- Differentiated gravelling of the different areas.

-Picnic tables...

This ambitious work was completed in 2000.

The end of a first adventure concluded with the publication in 2004 of a book by Jocelyne LEPARMENTIER entitled:

"The Château de Gavray - History and visit of the archaeological site"

(available at the association against payment by cheque of 7 €).

It is this structure that forms the backbone of this site.

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