The castle of Gruchy and the family of Pierres
Gruchy is an old estate, belonging to the Pierres family since at least 1401. The trace of the marriage of one of Pierres was found in the church of Englesqueville on January 1, 1401.
An old castle located not far from the current castle, but parallel to the road, burned and was completely rebuilt in 1750, in the classic style of the great Norman residences of the 18th century.
Again largely destroyed by a fire in the 19th century, its owner, the Marquis Adhémar de Pierre (great-grandfather of the current owner, Guy de Loÿs) undertook a reconstruction with an architect, Mr. Delaunay, a student of Viollet-le-Duc. The work lasted 6 years, from 1870 to 1876, but was interrupted by the premature death of the eldest son of the marquies, Gaston de Pierres. Later, after the death of Adhémar de Pierres, his youngest son gave up completing the reconstruction.
As a result the west part of the castle has preserved its 18th century architecture, the one we notice covered with greenery in the photo opposite.
The building has suffered from the war, but less than others that have completely disappeared. Two bombs fell nearby, and a shell reached the castle, but by chance, without exploding.
The permanent presence throughout the war of a person from the Pierres family certainly preserved the castle from complete occupation by the Germans. Here is what a resident of a large house in Vierville wrote on July 6, 1940:
"So I am still in a faction at the door of our old house that would have suffered the fate of those who are empty, they were filled with soldiers right away, and it must be said that it is quickly damaged by all this soldiers. G. de P. (Guillemette de Pierre, in Gruchy) has 45 at home, and its avenue lined with large trucks that we probably want to hide from English planes. We hardly see any of these, but our sky is crossed by others, which we can easily estimate at more than a hundred."
In 1944, the castle served as a PC for company 9/726 (of the 726th Grenadiers Regiment), commanded by a Bavarian officer, Captain Gründschloss, wounded in war, speaking perfect French and with impeccable behavior. The captain was killed on June 6 while fighting the Americans on the road from Vierville to Gruchy.
The account of these events, with the memories of Loÿs' family, is summarized in the chapters on Gruchy on June 6 and on June 7.
During the months that followed, and until January 1, 1945, the Americans installed the General Staff of their 6th Special Engineer Brigade.
This large multi-weapon unit was responsible for exploiting the west half of the "Omaha Beachhead" bridgehead. It was a question of ensuring unloading (500,000 people, 1,000,000 tons of cargo, 100,000 vehicles on the entire beach), transport, storage, construction, operation and maintenance of all corresponding infrastructures (roads, storage areas, hospitals, etc.).
details a visit during the event organized by the ADTLB on August 16, 2007:
"My village is told", with the participation of the inhabitants of Louvières
In the park, near the castle, there is an isolated chapel, built around 1866, also by Adhémar de Pierres, for his wife and sister.
The name of its architect has not been kept.
It was consecrated by the Bishop of Marseille and dedicated to ND de la Garde.
It was rarely used in the pre-war years, and it suffered a lot internally from the German occupation. During the summer and autumn of 1944, several ceremonies took place there, including the Christmas Eve 1944, with an American chaplain, a particularly moving ceremony at a time when the German offensive in the Ardennes could make us believe for a moment that the fate of the war could still be reversed.
It is now closed, having not been restored internally.
(details) The isolated chapel in the Gruchy Castle Park
(details) Another view of the isolated chapel
The fishing tower, also called the Marquis de Pierres tower
details Tower built by the Marquis de Pierres, near the Pointe de la Percée in 1873. It was in ruins in 1944 and has since disappeared (old postcard)
details (old postcard)
Below and on the right, some images dating from the 1939 Shrove Tuesday holidays, the tower was then already ruined.
February 1939, FC, MC, JPCA and PCA
JPCA
