The keep

  Built by Henry I Beauclerc in c. 1120, the square keep or donjon was surrounded a century later by a chemise with a round tower at each corner. This unit was partly destroyed during the French Revolution, and early in the 19 th century the military removed the last remains of the keep and its chemise, first to set up a powder magazine, and then to erect some large barrack buildings to accommodate soldiers of the Lefèbvre barracks. The remains visible today emerged from the archaeological digs of the fifties and sixties. The restoration work done then is now time-worn and also under threat from the vegetation, which is always trying to take over again and is severely damaging the stonework. At present only groups escorted by a Musée de Normandie cultural mediator or a tourist office guide are allowed to visit the keep enclosure.