Church, mansions, farms, walls, wells and landscapes make up the heritage described by Yves Cordelle. This presentation brings together personal notes and excerpts from old documents, including from the 2011 urban planning file.
Historical, natural and landscape heritage
(partly carried out from the PLU survey file)
HISTORICAL AND LANDSCAPE HERITAGE
1 - Historical monuments classified protected by perimeters
Monuments are inseparable from the space that surrounds them: any modification on it reflects on the perception and therefore the conservation of them. Also the law imposes, by a classification and an easement, a right of inspection of the Architect of Buildings of France (ABF) on any modification envisaged within a perimeter of protection of 500 meters of radius around historical monuments.
The notion of "co-visibility" with the monument is decisive here, it is a question of knowing whether the base ground of the project and the monument are either visible from each other or visible together from any point. If there is "co-visibility", the ABF has the right to give a compliant and binding opinion. Otherwise, his opinion is said to be simple and not binding.
Opposite the plan of easements around the classified works in Vierville, from N to South,
- the bell tower of thechurch (October 1, 1913),
- the castle of Vaumicel (June 15, 1927),
- the bell tower of Louvières (classified from 1840) whose perimeter overflows over the territory of Vierville.
The 3 protected perimeters
The Vaumicel, historical monument, a castle of the 16th century, protected by an old enclosure of the Middle Ages
"From a distance, the Vaumicel castle is an impenetrable enclosure.
The agricultural buildings in the foreground form an perimeter line that allows to perceive the castle located in the background (NO/SE oriented with a very slight inclination).
Pety hedges frame the whole and some tree punctuations come to settle the building.
From the Vaumicel road we approach the castle which can be revealed in some places. Part of the park, as well as the grassing at the foot of the walls or the ruins, thus contribute to the pleasure of the public space". (extract from the PLU investigation file)
(details) The church of Vierville, with a historic monument bell tower
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The church of Louvières and its protected bell tower
2 - The historical heritage of 1944, not protected as historical monuments
Places related to History have a variable interest, the quality of the places (for example, emotional power and evocation of the events of June 6, 1944) and their ease of access constituting two determining factors for the use of the site. From these criteria, we distinguish a whole gradient of tourist attendance of the place, ranging from the "minute" stop (the National Guard monument), or even the "second" stop (the commemorative stele of the 1st American cemetery).
There are two types of monuments distributed over the site, each of them generating a different apprehension: (see the Memorials)
- memorials, quite numerous, between 12 and 20, of different types
- remains "witness elements". In particular the remaining fortifications of the German fortified points (WN73, WN72, WN71, WN70) and the remains of the Mulberry artificial port (stranded pontoon in front of Vierville, emerging wrecks at sea, floating walkways exposed along Bedford Avenue)
Red: WN 73, 72, 71
Blue: American pontoon
Orange: F: Monument National Guard
G: Monument 29th division + plaque 5th Battalion of Rangers
H: Monument 6th Engineer Special Brigade
M: DDAY OMAHA museum
3 - Architectural and archaeological sites not protected as historical monuments, but protected under the "Landscape" law. These sites grouped here in 9 groups (9 sketches opposite) are noted in purple on the PLU zoning. We must add the hiking routes to be saved in the same way:
- L'Ormel (16th century mansion), 5 old buildings and 5 walls
- the entire old sector of the Grandcamp road, around the manor farm of Crespigny (16th century, including interior fireplace and facade dovecote). Renovated in 2010
- The whole of the Château de Vierville (17th century, built on numerous remains of the Middle Ages) and the manor of Than (18th century): the castle and many fence walls.
- The château de Saint-Sever (18th century), many old buildings
- the 2 covered wells of Vacqueville
- the covered well south of the Vaumicel and the East perimeter wall
- the well covered in the hamlet of Guerberue
- The 3 covered wells of the hamlet of Fosses-Taillis
- the covered well of rue du Hamel-au-Prêtre
Hamel au Prêtre, 1 covered well to be saved under the Landscape Law
(details) the covered well of the Hamel to the Priests
Fosses-Taillis: 3 wells to be saved for landscapes
Hiking itineraries to preserve
In purple, the itineraries that the PLU plans to save under the Landscape Act
L'Ormel, late 16th century mansion farm
The municipality of Vierville-sur-Mer has several manor farms, typical of Bessin. These stone farmhouses are organized around a square courtyard closed by the buildings of blind farms on the outside and high walls that protect from the eye. (see diagram above)
At the Ormel, 5 buildings and 5 walls to be saved as landscapes
details The old manoir de Crespigny restored in 2007 is part of the sector to be safeguarded of the Grandcamp road (below) under the landscape
Crespigny, the old building body, with the facade dovecotee, before the 2007 renovation
(details) The Vierville Castle
Domains of the Château de Vierville and the mansion of Than: 1 building (castle) and 5 walls to be saved along the Chasse au Fresne and Chasse-Bertin roads, as a landscape
Where 8 buildings are to be safeguarded as landscapes
The place called "Saint-Sever is an impenetrable enclosure.
The built whole (a farmhouse at first glance) is well inscribed in the landscape thanks to the plant
(alleys, hedges, park, grove) which sometimes settles the constructions, sometimes frames the whole.
However, we may regret the planting of conifers that are "foreign" to the local landscape.
From the traffic lanes, the presence of the bourgeois residence is unsuspected. Indeed, this one
is "protected" by the farm and its park. The house is oriented SO/NE.
The park has different landscape elements: a pond, alleys (of chestnut trees in particular),
groves and a French garden featuring the south facade of the bourgeois house." (extract from the PLU investigation file)
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Vacqueville: 2 wells to be saved, as landscapes
Vaumicel: 1 well and 1 wall to be saved as landscapes
Guerberue: 1 well to be saved as landscapes
4 - The small built heritage of historical or landscape interest but not provided for on the PLU as to be safeguarded under the Landscape Act.
These are small scattered elements, the classification of which has not been specifically retained, including:
At the Château de Vierville (common):
- a circular dovecote
- a sculpture in the shape of a gargoyle
- the old East enclosure of the Château de Vierville, dating from the Middle Ages, with 1 pointed turret ruined in 1944, 1 low turret, an archer's post
- an old sculpture on a reuse stone in Vacqueville
- a picturesque sculpture (reuse) on a restaurant built around 1880 (la Pie qui Tette)
- An old farm in Les Isles (Blin farm in 1940), opposite
- The old port: remains of the 16th century
- occupation Bronze Age: for the record, finds of remains always possible
- Neolithic occupation: in the peats, especially under the beach, for memory witnesses of the forests of that time
traces of peat exploited in the past, in front of the Vierville dike, a day when the sand was absent, temporarily carried away by the currents.
The'old port dug in the 16th century and abandoned a century later, we can distinguish the edge of the North Quai, made of well-aligned and level cut stones
Château de Vierville, a former dovecote of the Middle Ages, interior
(details) Château de Vierville, a small lookout post with 2 archers
(details) on the commons of the castle of Vierville, a fake stone gargoyle on a very old barn
(details) The East enclosure seen from the North, at the Château de Vierville
5 - Les remarkable wooded areas of Vierville (see special page)
6 - Protected natural heritage
On the rocky edge as well as on the dune and the marsh, the ZNIEFF inventory has highlighted a great botanical variety with the presence of rare species.
On the ornithological level, the cliffs to the east and west of the historic site are a particularly interesting nesting place for seabirds and the thickets welcome many passerines.
Finally, the mosaic of different environments (dune, marsh, thickets, meadows, woods) favors a great diversity of insects.
The following 3 areas were thus included in the classified site of Omaha Beach on the municipal territory of Vierville-sur-Mer:
- a part of the ZNIEFF 1 "cliffs and rocky estrans of the western Bessin"
- part of the Important Bird Conservation Area (ZICO)
- part of the Special Protection Zone included in the network Natura 2000
The inventory of Natural Areas of Wildlife and Floristic Ecological Interest (ZNIEFF) highlighted the ecological qualities of the territory.
Map of sensitive natural environments
These protections attest to a great wealth of heritage. Also, these sectors deserve the name of "remarkable spaces" within the meaning of the "Littoral" law.