Fairies, Ghosts & a Creepy Castle | Gratot - Exploring France

 

Château de Gratot today

Back at the beginning of the year, our adventures took us to the surrounding area of Coutances, Normandy. After a bit of googling, we found an old ruin called the Château de Gratot that we knew we had to check out. Its only a 5 minute drive out of Coutances itself and is so easy to find from the town center. This building dates back to the 13th century although it has been added to over the years and some of the ruin date back to the 18th century. 

Partial ruins of the Château, but the main house was still in tact

It has a fascinating story about a Lord who lived in the house and a fairy, its said the fairy seduced the Lord of Gratot. One day when he came home from hunting in the house's grounds, he heard a fairy singing to him from the fountain. We couldn't find the fountain but apparently this fountain is the spring from which the water of the moat comes. The fairy seduced him and married him on one condtion... He was never allowed to say the word "death". We couldn't find any more information about the fairy online so we had to go to the Château to see it!

When we arrived, we saw the spire of the church that's just down the path from the Château, and just behind it, the towers of the Château. As we approached, there was a small pond outside and a moat. We later found out that this moat was used in the 1700's as a boating lake. We still couldn't find the fountain, but as so much of the building had been ruined, we assumed the fountain had too.

The lake at the front of the Château

We walked through the original drawbridge that was replaced in the 1600's and into the Château. We were the only ones there, the perks of going to tourist spots in the winter! This meant we were able to take our time and have a proper look around. We ventured in the cellars that had been partially filled in over time. There were two basement levels at one point but now only one remained with some glimpse of the 2nd by the archways that still existed. It is quite an odd building to look at, the square tower is very in keeping with the architecture of the time, but you can see it has been added to over the centuries. We went over to the doorway of the tower and we were actually able to go up it! Up a very narrow winding staircase. This tower is called Fairy Tower. We were getting closer to finding the rest of the story. We went up to the top of the tower, which was at one point Lord Gratots bedroom. It's a tiny square room with a little fireplace in. It's quite a trek to get to the top to go to bed. As we walked up the steps, we both got a really odd eerie feeling. Matt doesn't often feel unnerved but this place was weird. There was an essence of sadness and danger when walking up the narrow spiral stairs.

At the bottom of the staircase, it tells you of the "Myth of the Fairy". The fairy and Lord Gratot remained married for 7 years. One day, they were preparing for a garden party and the fairy was taking a long time to get ready in the tower. The Lord shouted up the the fairy ”Madam, you are very slow in your tasks! You would be good to send to fetch death, as you take so much time.”.  The Lord had said the forbidden word, death.  She let out an almighty scream and the fairy approached her window putting her hand on the windowsill and disappeared.  No-one knows where she went but their marriage was over.  Legend says, on stormy nights the fairy can still be heard screaming and her handprint can be seen on the windowsill of Fairy Tower.  Maybe this is why we felt out of sorts climbing the staircase.

The family crest showing the Fairy

The Château has changed hands quite a lot over the years and wasn’t kept very well thoughout the 19th century. It soon fell into disrepair and was abandoned at the beginning of the 20th century. There were still events and weddings taking place at the Château during this time. The last one in 1914. The wedding party had left the chapel having been married and were just about to enter the Château when there was an almighty crash. One of the main beams holding up the ceiling collapsed.  After this, there was no action at the Château until 1968. In 1968, a group of volunteers started to uncover the Château from the immense amount of ivy that was covering it. Had they not, it is likely the building would have fallen into complete ruin.

The Château in the 1960's

There is a cost of €4 to get into the Château but all the money thats made goes into the continual upkeep of the building. If you’re ever in this area, its definatly worth a visit! Heres the link to their website… https://www.chateaugratot.com

If you want to see more of Château de Gratot, head over to our YouTube channel, we have an episode dedicated to it! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tihVN60h430. 

For anyone that uses What3Words, the Château is - ///rattlesnake.passively.touted

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