Tourelles Castle

Tourelles Castle, locally known as Château des Tourelles, lies in the northern part of the city of Vernon, in the Eure department in France.

In 1196, King Philip II of France took the town and castle of Vernon from the English. He then made Vernon the base for his future military operations. He built a bridge over the Seine river and Tourelles Castle. The castle is actually the bridge head, built with the purpose of protecting the bridge.

Tourelles Castle was a simple square keep with four, 20 meters high, crenelated towers. Its entrance would have been on the side of the bridge. It was surrounded by a moat and linked to the stone bridge by a wooden bridge.

Tourelles Castle was hardly ever involved in military action and finally decommissioned in 1650.

In the mid-18th century, the milling company of a Mr. Plant moved into the castle and surrounding area. The castle was then used as a silo and spaces in the towers were used as offices. There also was a large construction built on top of the castle and stretching down to the river, that was used as a wharf for loading the boats. During the Revolution the milling company was stopped and moved out of the castle. It has remained empty since.

During WW II Tourelles Castle was damaged by bombs but later it was restored.

At present the castle seems to have no use and its interior can not be visited. It is situated in the garden of a rafting school but this garden is freely accessible. A very nice castle.

Gallery