It is to meet a rather exceptional property in Rouen that we have decided to take you now. Worthy of the haunted houses that one would hardly dare to approach out of fear, this building from 1890 asks on the contrary that one approaches its surroundings to admire all its curves. A little marvel of sculpted wood and wrought iron, this residence belonged to Ferdinand Marrou.

Ferdinand, who you must be saying to yourself... It's true that when you say it like that, it's not easy. This man was a famous French ironworker who, having settled in Normandy in 1870, shared his expertise enormously on major construction sites in Fécamp but also in Rouen. In the Norman metropolis, we owe him in particular the bell towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral and the roof finials of the Gros Horloge and the Tour Jeanne D'Arc.


Now occupied by the offices of one of the Regional Council's departments, Ferdinand Marrou's house has been listed as a historic monument since 1975. A distinction that would certainly have pleased its original owner and creator.