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Englesqueville-la-Percée
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Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Miscellaneous historic sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)
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Château de Beaumont-le-Richard is named after Richard du Hommet (1115-1180), who built the castle. With the decline of the seigniory, the castle was replaced by a farm, which functioned up until World War II. Today everything but the chapel is in ruins. The private chapel was dedicated in 1640 and other farm buildings were built in the 17th and 18th centuries. The castle and the surrounding terrain is private property, but it can be viewed from the public road.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.