Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz
ManorHidden Treasure
Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz, located in Pédernec (Département 22), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Manor
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Pédernec, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5946, -3.2801
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089369
On the edge of the Trégor region, Kermathéman Braz reveals the stylistic mutation of 16th-century Brittany in a single building: flamboyant Gothic to the north and triumphant Renaissance to the west, united by an elegant octagonal tower.
History
Hidden away in the bocage of the Côtes-d'Armor, in Pédernec, the manor house of Kermathéman Braz is one of those discreet gems that inland Brittany reserves for the curious. Far from the coast and the beaten tourist track, it embodies with rare eloquence the creative tension that ran through Breton seigneurial architecture throughout the 16th century, when builders were still hesitating between Gothic verticality and the new grammar coming from Italy. What is immediately striking is how clearly this evolution can be seen in a single building. The north facade, built between 1520 and 1530, still speaks the language of the flamboyant Gothic style: bold mouldings, delicate infills and windows with braces. The west facade, on the other hand, expresses a controlled Renaissance style, with its softer proportions, horizontal frames and classicist ornamentation. Between these two periods, the return wing, dated 1584, completes the picture, offering visitors a veritable history of art lesson in grey granite stone. The visit is as much about the architecture as the atmosphere. The inner courtyard, surrounded by outbuildings - a farmhouse to the east, a former bakehouse and stables flanking the gateway to the north - recreates the complete layout of a 16th-century country estate. You can imagine the life that went on there: the bustle of the farmyard, the heat of the communal oven, the horses passing under the porch. Inside, the fireplaces are the manor's most intimate treasure. Characteristic of homes in the Penthièvre and Trégor regions, they combine structural sobriety and decorative refinement, with their straight hoods and carefully crafted jambs. The spiral staircase housed in the octagonal tower - a masterpiece of geometric compactness at the corner of the two sections - leads fluidly to the upper floors and the attic, giving a continuous, almost hypnotic rhythm to the ascent. Kermathéman Braz is for those who love living monuments, those that have not been too polished by restoration. Its granite roughness, its gentle curve in the vegetation of the inland Goëlo and the precision of its sculpted details make it a destination in a class of its own, reserved for true heritage enthusiasts.
Architecture
The manor house at Kermathéman Braz has an L-shaped layout typical of Breton seigneurial residences of the Renaissance period, with the main building running north-south and a wing closing off the eastern corner. The entire complex is built of grey granite ashlar, the dominant material in the Armorican subsoil, which gives the façades a mineral gravity and a rock-solid solidity. The two main facades reveal their dual stylistic origins: the northern facade, which is the older (circa 1520-1530), retains the hallmarks of the flamboyant Gothic style - complex mouldings, mullioned windows, ornate brackets - while the western facade displays a resolutely Renaissance repertoire, with its cross-headed frames, balanced proportions and assertive horizontality. The most remarkable architectural feature is undoubtedly the octagonal tower housed in the re-entrant corner of the two sections. This feature, common in Breton châteaux and manor houses of the period, shows all the ingenuity of the master mason here: the regular polygon fits perfectly into the geometry of the square, allowing the spiral staircase to serve the two living levels and the attic with admirable economy of means. The interior fireplaces are another highlight of the building. The fireplaces in the lower and upper rooms of the main building date from the 16th century and bear witness to the skills of the chimney sweepers of Penthièvre and Trégor, with their generous proportions, carefully profiled hoods and carefully dressed jambs. The 1584 wing, on the other hand, features more sober fireplaces with straight hoods, representative of the move towards a temperate classicism. The courtyard, bordered to the east by a long outbuilding and framed to the north by the former bakehouse and the stables, completes the layout by restoring the complete organisation of a 16th century noble farm.
Related Figures
Seigneur de Kermathéman (vers 1520-1530) — commanditaire présumé du corps de logis principal, dont l'identité précise demeure incertaine mais dont le goût pour le gothique flamboyant trahit une culture artistique encore ancrée dans la tradition médiévale bretonneMaître d'ouvrage de 1584 — commanditaire de l'aile en retour, dont le nom est gravé dans une inscription aujourd'hui difficile à déchiffrer, et qui embrasse délibérément le vocabulaire de la RenaissanceMaître maçon anonyme (XVIe siècle) — artisan concepteur de la tour octogonale et de l'escalier en vis, dont la maîtrise technique témoigne d'une formation dans les chantiers importants de la région
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz located?
Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz is located in Pédernec, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz built?
Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz open to visitors?
Ancien manoir de Kermathéman Braz is currently closed to visitors.