Bois des Moutiers is a historic estate located in Varengeville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. The estate spans 30 acres and is widely known for its rhododendrons, azaleas, and magnolias, which were introduced and naturalized among local flora. The estate consists of a large park overlooking the sea and formal gardens that surround a manor house, where the original owner’s descendants still reside. The estate is listed as a historical monument and a Remarkable Garden of France.
Guillaume Mallet became the owner of a large valley overlooking the sea in 1897. He acquired the site while it was still wild, and over almost forty years, he took great care to create a large park. In 1898 he entrusted Edwin Lutyens, a young British architect, with the enlargement and renovation of his residence and Gertrude Jekyll, a celebrated English garden designer, with the garden arrangement.
The original house was constructed around 1850 and later substantially remodelled in the Arts-and-Crafts style by Edwin Lutyens. This style is characterised by a desire to recognise the importance of the materials, create unique relatively plain works, and above all, a reminder that craft deserves to be considered as a work of art. Consistent with this, the buildings of the Bois des Moutiers are conceived as a full-fledged work where every detail of wrought iron and woodwork has been taken care of during their creation.
The gardens, seven in all, are enclosed areas surrounding the house on the south and east sides. Gertrude Jekyll, their creator, mixed colours and scents together in order to design a unique atmosphere in each of them. The acidic soil and maritime climate are favourable for introducing species such as Himalayan rhododendrons and azaleas from China. Behind the house, beyond a wide lawn, Guillaume Mallet designed and planted a vast area, which stretches down to the sea cliffs.
Guillaume Mallet and his wife Marie-Adelaïde died in 1946. Their son André and his wife Mary inherited the estate that had been badly damaged during the war. The whole family devoted their energies to restoring the estate to its original condition. In 1970, the Mallet family opened their property to the public, becoming the first private garden in France that could be visited by the public.
Visitor numbers have declined in recent years, and maintaining the estate has become increasingly difficult for Antoine Bouchayer-Mallet, the current owner, to manage. Ownership is now legally divided between eleven people, and in the next generation, there will be many more. So Bouchayer-Mallet has considered putting the estate up for sale, possibly through an English estate agency. It is uncertain that Bois des Moutiers will be open to the public in the future.