Most people who say they live in an historic property are referring to its age: at the Château du Pont de Vaudry (Calvados), physical traces of the part it played in history can still be found in the grounds.
Its two wings date from the 1600s, with a central section from 1760 complete with a Regency-style staircase. Its 400m² of living space had been used for holidays by a large extended family for decades and, although it had 10 bedrooms, it had only one bathroom, no septic tank and a dubious electric system.
When British couple Nick and Sally first saw the property, they saw a beautiful home that they hoped to restore; they did not know the full extent of its story.
Having already spent many happy years holidaying in their own Normandy longère since the 1990s, the Shacklocks decided to move to France permanently when they retired, and with this in mind, they started looking for a suitable home.
History lesson: Nick and Sally ShacklockNick Shacklock
“We were looking for a detached property that wasn’t in the middle of nowhere, so when this one came up 2km outside of Vire, it seemed like the ideal project,” said Mr Shacklock.
The couple moved to France on Christmas Eve 2019, initially living in their holiday home during the renovation work, then moving into one wing of the chateau and eventually selling their longère so that they could continue working on the property.
The Shacklocks were told that Château du Pont de Vaudry had been the site of Operation Bluecoat, a key battle that took place just weeks after the famous Normandy landings, with the aim of defeating German defences and securing the road from Vire to Mont Pinçon so the Allies could advance.
A lovingly restored bedroom
“After the D-Day invasion, British forces had to clear Caen so that American troops could come through,” said Nick.
“Once Caen was cleared, the British were able to reach Saint-Martin-des-Besaces, north of Vaudry, where German troops were safely entrenched on the Perrier Ridge facing where we now live. This chateau sits right in the gap where Operation Bluecoat took place in July and August 1944.”
At that time, the chateau was owned by the Gallet family, part of the luxury perfumiers Roger & Gallet. The Gallets and their 11 children lived here from 1919, with as many as 30 people sheltering in the property at various points throughout World War Two.
Brigitte Gallet published a book about their wartime experiences, named La guerre 1939-1945 telle que nous l'avons vécue (The 1939-1945 war, as we experienced it).
The imposing tulip tree in the grounds
The fight raged day after day under the hot sun, and the Gallet family recalled how, when the German troops blew up the bridge at the end of the chateau garden, all the windows of the house were blown out and the roof lifted before settling again. The Château du Pont de Vaudry sits in around 12 acres of woodland, grazing land and gardens, grounds that still contain traces of mortars, as well as the remnants of a Sherman tank.
“When we bought the property, the land was one big mass of brambles and overgrown lawns,” Nick recalled, “but we’ve seen old photos of what the gardens used to look like when it was tended by professional gardeners.
The château also boasts a billiard room
Ancient trees
“We’ve got 40 different varieties of tree, including a centuries-old sequoia and a beautiful tulip tree, so our first garden priority was to make sure they were all safe.
“We went out one lunchtime and returned to find that a single tree had fallen right across the drive, blocking our way in, and we couldn’t just move it out of the way as its trunk was about three metres across!”
Over the past few years, the couple has transformed the chateau into a practical, modernised home with a much more comfortable ratio of five bedrooms to five bathrooms. Now an integral part of village life, Nick and Sally have learned even more about the property’s history from their neighbours.
Today, 81 years after Operation Bluecoat, the Château du Pont de Vaudry is still a quirky property with a fascinating past; but a peaceful family home in the Normandy countryside.
