The dovecote of the fossé estate

While the Pays de Caux is rightly famous as a vast "granary," it is also a land of manors and lordships. Among these vestiges of the past, the dovecote stands as the most striking symbol of former power. These architectural towers were not merely farmyard ornaments; they were tangible proof of holding a "full fief".

At the heart of this tradition, the Domaine du Fossé in Mont-Cauvaire offers exceptional testimony. Although the chateau itself was sadly destroyed during the last war, its dovecote miraculously survived. This elegant octagonal structure is distinguished by its rich ornamentation: black brick patterns and lozenges zigzag across a red background, all framed by stone corner-chains. A charming detail crowns the whole: its roof features a finial in the shape of a pigeon, a nod to its original purpose. This domain, a former vavassory once belonging to Fécamp Abbey, was owned by illustrious families such as the Congniards in the 17th century.

The Pays de Caux as a whole is a prime location for these monuments, with more than six hundred dovecotes listed in Seine-Maritime. Their architecture reflects a masterful local craftsmanship, using brick, flint, and limestone to create polychrome designs. While 51% are circular to accommodate an internal rotating ladder, others take square or polygonal forms, such as the hexagonal one at Mont-Landrin in Frichemesnil (1730).

However, a darker social history lies behind this architectural beauty. The "right to a dovecote" (droit de colombier) was one of the most loathed seigneurial privileges for the peasantry. They watched their crops and seeds being pillaged by swarms of pigeons—a large dovecote could house up to 1,500 pigeonholes (nests), or 3,000 birds. Besides fresh meat, the lords coveted "colombine", an exceptionally rich manure used as fertiliser. This tension was such that the 1789 Books of Grievances (Cahiers de Doléances) overwhelmingly demanded their destruction or, at the very least, their closure during sowing seasons.

Abolished on the night of 4 August 1789, dovecotes lost their role as a mark of privilege but retained their heritage value. Today, they are no longer sources of conflict but landmarks on a tourist trail, the "Route des Colombiers Cauchois". Visiting Mont-Cauvaire, one sees not just a brick tower, but an entire chapter of Norman history, saved from oblivion by the passion of historians and restorers.