Updated on 19 October 2020
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Discovery tour of Anisy
Discover one of our country villages at the gates of Caen.
This pretty village was founded in the 11th century by the family of the lords of Anisy, one of the oldest in Normandy.
You will see the manor house of Anisy (15th century) and its beautiful pond fed by numerous local springs. The Romanesque church, listed as a historical monument since 1927, was built in the 11th century.
In the main street, which was preserved from the bombings of June 1944, you can also discover many 18th century stone houses typical of the housing on the Caen plain.
Further information
Beware of narrow pavements, sometimes dangerous traffic
IGN MAP
OPEN STREET MAP
Starting point
14610 Anisy
Waypoints
Go to points of interest1 Departure from rue de la Chenaie, parking of the town hall.
2 Head right to Place des Libérateurs Canadiens.
3 Head to the left
4 Take the Rue de l'Église to the fire engine room.
5 Turn left into Clarke Lawson Street
6 Continue to the intersection and turn left
7 Continue on rue Charles Labutte
8 Make a U-turn and turn right onto Rue des Écoles
10 Turn left
11 Go up rue Alfred Harel (opposite the Calvary)
12 Return to rue de la Chenaie, town hall car park.
Points of interest
Go to waypointsSculpture by Serge Saint
Self-taught artist from Normandy. Different tours to discover his works; routes-serge-saint-sculpteur.net
Former school and town hall (no. 4) - PRIVATE
Purchased from the Auvray family in 1838, this house became the village school for 125 years. From 1948 onwards, the growing number of school-age children required the opening of a second class. It opened in the former living room of the second presbytery, which was located in Rue Charles Labutte. This situation lasted until 1963. The house then freed of its schoolchildren then became a town hall until 1988.
Electrical transformer
Painted in the colours of the Queen's own Rifles of Canada of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division which arrived to liberate the village on 06 June 1944. This regiment landed on D-Day at Bernières-sur-Mer.
Old presbytery (at the corner of the two streets) - PRIVATE
Acquired by the parish in 1692, it formerly consisted of a manor house and various buildings with a courtyard, two gardens and several pieces of arable land.
Field hospital in 1944
On 24 August 1944, after the liberation of the village, a Royal Air Force medical unit set up a field hospital in this grassland. Several aircraft were also based here.
Hand-held fire pump room
Built in the late 19th century and used until the early 20th century. Hand pumps were often powered by water from nearby ponds or groundwater.
Saint Pierre Church
The three-bay nave and the choir were built in the 11th and 12th centuries. Lancet windows were added in the 14th century. Romanesque door flanked by columns adorned with capitals and a fret-pattern arch. Side walls displaying herringbone masonry. High altar topped with a baroque altarpiece from the 17th century.
Former place of ancient presence
The foundations of a probable Gallo-Roman villa have been discovered here, as well as those of buildings and the remains of a late medieval fireplace.
The water well
A wood and limestone water well dating from the 19th century. The town had no less than 50 water wells before 1950. Now they are mostly situated on private properties.
Former presbytery (opposite no. 6) - PRIVATE
A beautiful cross adorns the entrance to the old gate. During the occupation, the location of the kommandantur annex (which was in Colomby-sur-Thaon) was near this building. At D-Day, the officers who were there fled and set fire to the original building.
N°4 rue des Écoles
This was the location of one of the former school's classrooms (see no. 2), which was housed in the living room of the former presbytery (see no. 11).
Main Street
Totally preserved during the bombardments of June 1944. The houses along it, characteristic of the housing of the Caen plain in the 18th century, are built of Creully limestone and the window frames are of cut Caen stone.
Former grocery shop (#27) - PRIVATE
In the past, this was a farmhouse with a cart, which until 1980 was the village's grocery shop. During the Second World War a shell hit the façade, the restored impact point can still be seen.
Former bakery (n°25) - PRIVATE
This building, where the name of its former owner "Gombeaux" is still inscribed, was the village bakery in the 19th century.
Calvary
In white granite since 1975, the Christ from the old wooden Calvary of 1932 has been replaced on the new one.
Boulodrome
Former sanitary site for Allied soldiers in early July 1944.
The Anisy pond
Fed by numerous local springs, some of which are called vitouards (small streams with intermittent resurgences). It was said that the vitouard of Anisy sometimes aroused curiosity because it sometimes remained without flowing for several years and then suddenly grew and flooded the valley, penetrating houses, stables and barns to the point where it could drown livestock. The inhabitants had to flee, then the flooding stopped and the stream returned to its bed for several years. In the 20th century, the commune built an aqueduct under the road to remedy the problem of the water overflow.
Once a dependency of Anisy castle, this pond was used to water the farmers' livestock, as there were no drinking troughs or washhouses in the commune. Today, we can find the "Alytes obstetricans" toad, which is the scientific name of the pond. This significant 5-centimetre long batrachian can be distinguished by the fact that the male, after mating with the female, takes care of the egg-laying, which he twists around his legs until the tadpoles are born.
Great crested newts, as in the Anguerny pond, have also found refuge here.
The Manor of Anisy 15th century - PRIVATE
The building belonged to the family of the Lords of Anisy. One of the members of this very old Norman family accompanied Duke Robert to the Holy Land during the first crusade in 1096. The d'Anisy family was one of the oldest in Normandy. This manor house is built on one of the four ancient fiefs of the village, from which the church also depends.