Château de Galleville is remarkable for ifs great unity of style. The castle was built in 1678 by Roque de Varengeville, counsellor to King Louis XIV and also his ambassador in Venice (a city in which he would develop a passion for stucco architecture, later applying this decorative technique to the chateau's chapel. A continuous line of ownership by inheritance or marriage can be traced from the present owners back to 1769, year in which the chateau estate was bought by the Monsieur de Reuville family. In later years, it passed via marriage into the families of the Count of Héricy and the Marquis de Montault. Finally, it was bequeathed by Melle Isaure de Montault to her nephew, the Baron d'Etchegoyen.
The Revolution spread to Doudeville but the chateau emerged relatively unscathed. Complete restoration of the chateau was carried out by Count Mniszech, husband of a certain Melle de Montault in 1880. During the First World War (1914-1918) chateau was occupied by regiments of Scottish and English soldiers.
In 1943 Galleville suffered damages during World War II, not by bombs but by a fire started by the Germans who were occupying the site. At the end of the war, a whole section of the chateau was in ruins. The Baron d'Etchegoyen rapidly set about repairing the damage — the building works would last eight years but restored the chateau to its former glory. Today Château de Galleville is open to the public.
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.