G. Château de Canon
Castles and parks to visit

The Canon estate is privately owned and is sitll the home of its designer's descendants : his name was Jean-Baptiste Jacques Elie de Beaumont.

Born in Carentan in 1732, this renowend lawyer at the Paris Parliament, used to be steward of the Finances of the Count d'Artois (the future King Charles X), and was a fervent defender of the Protestant cause in the 18th century, and a great friend of Voltaire's. The architecture of the castle and the lanscape around it are imbued of his spirit and his personnality.

Canon, witness of the "Age of Enlightenment":

The Canon estate, which has been preserved intact, without any additions, since the second half of the 18th century, bears perfect witness of the "Age of Inlightenment" : the reason behind its being integrally classified as a historic monument, both the buildings, the castle and outhouses, and the surrounding grounds, the park, the avenues....

The precious archives concerved in the Canon "charterhouse" contain all the details of the works undertaken between 1768 and 1786, notably in the numerous letters that the lawyer adressed to his steward Eutrop Seurain from Paris, where his court work required his continious presence. A team of over 30 workmen worked on the site every day for more than 10 years, using blond lemostone from Quilly and beach sand to give a "rustic" effect to the façades.

Elie de Beaumont himself ordered countless trees of various different species from the Harcourt nurseries that were to adorn the park ; he always sought contrasting colours for all seasons (elms, lime trees, chestnut trees, hornbeam...) ; furthermore, he paid close attention to "natural sounds" (the waterfalls) and to perspective (preferring canals and rivers to walls for the enclosure of the sections).

He also attached considerable importance to his "orchard groves", the "Chartreuses", the 13 gardens walled gardens joined by a series of rounded arch openings, which he designed himself. He wished to come here and rest, to forget his hectic activities and, according to his correpondence, spend a few days relaxing "without even opening a book".

"La fête des Bonnes Gens :

Finally, Mr and Mme Elie de Beaumont created the reknowned "fête de Bonne Gens" (the Good Folk fayre), a grand celebration of virtue, two days of festivities during which were crowned the Good Mother, the Good Old Man or Woman, the Good Head of the Family, and the Rosière (a young woman recognised for her virtue), all of whom were elected by universal suffrage by the inhabitants of Canon, Mézidon and Vieux-Fumé.

Many souvenirs of this festival, which brought together thousands of people each year, between the castle, the church and the abbey of Sainte-Barbe of Mézidon, have been conserved. .

A large proportion of the commons, to the North, were used for this celebration, including a large theatre baptised the "Hall of the Rosières" ; the sculpted motifs on the eastern façade of the castle also recall this event.