Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine
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Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine, located in Morée (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Morée, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9028, 1.2328
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098522
At the gateway to Morée, the Porte de la Perrine reveals a 17th-century double embossed portal topped by a triangular pediment, an eloquent vestige of a seigniorial manor house swallowed up by the centuries.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
In the heart of the Vendôme region, just outside the small town of Morée in Loir-et-Cher, the Porte de la Perrine is one of those fragments of French seigneurial history that you come across almost by accident, at the bend in a country lane. What remains today of a vast, once flourishing estate - the Grande and Petite Perrine - is both humble and striking: a rectangular enclosure surrounded by thick walls, three defensive towers still standing, and above all this monumental double gateway that imposes its presence with undiminished dignity. The Porte de la Perrine draws its distinctive character from its 17th-century gateway, made up of two arched openings adorned with carefully matched stone bosses. The larger of these entrances is crowned by a triangular pediment with a moulded cornice, in the centre of which a rectangular panel in relief adds a touch of classical nobility. This architectural assemblage bears witness to the provincial nobility's taste for outward signs of rank, borrowed from classical vocabulary without ever becoming ostentatious. Visiting the Porte de la Perrine is like reading a landscape in perspective. The Grande Perrine manor house has disappeared, as has the Petite Perrine farm. All that remains is the defensive framework - walls, towers, gate - that once defined the life of an active agricultural and seigneurial estate. The buildings still standing in the enclosed courtyard could be the last remnants of the main building, transformed or reduced in size over time. This architectural mystery lends the site a special atmosphere, conducive to meditation on the fragility of things built. The surrounding setting reinforces this sense of timeless retreat. Morée, a modest village in the Beauce region of Blois, is surrounded by agricultural plains that give the Domaine de la Perrine an almost melancholy solitude. In spring, when the vegetation takes over from the grey stones, the three corner towers emerge from the greenery with a romantic grace. This is a monument for enlightened amateurs, for those who prefer the intimate resonance of a place to the spectacular grandeur of famous fortresses.
Architecture
The architectural ensemble at La Perrine takes the form of a rectangular enclosure surrounded by masonry walls, reinforced at its corners or strategic points by three circular or polygonal defensive towers, typical of the ornamental defensive devices of 17th-century provincial architecture. These modestly sized towers served a symbolic function of delimiting the seigneurial boundaries, as much as providing genuine military protection, at a time when the troubles of the Wars of Religion were gradually subsiding. The centrepiece of the site is undoubtedly the monumental double gateway. Comprising two round-arched openings, it is decorated with alternating stone bosses - regular projections in the facing that give the arches a rhythmic, robust appearance, characteristic of the classical French vocabulary of the Grand Siècle. The larger of the two bays, designed for the passage of crews, is topped by a triangular pediment with a moulded cornice. In the centre of the tympanum, a rectangular panel in relief, probably intended to hold a coat of arms or a dedication inscription, adds a heraldic and personalised touch to the whole. The second, narrower opening was probably reserved for pedestrians. The materials used are those of the local building tradition in the Loir-et-Cher region: tufa stone or soft limestone from the region, which is easy to work and allows for the sculpted details that can be seen on the bosses and cornice. The buildings still standing in the enclosed courtyard have a sober, functional architecture, with no particular ornamentation, which contrasts with the studied solemnity of the entrance gate.
Related Figures
Seigneurs locaux du XVIe siècle, commanditaires présumés de l'enclos fortifié de la Grande PerrinePropriétaire anonyme du XVIIe siècle, maître d'ouvrage du portail monumental à frontonFamilles nobles du Vendômois ayant pu tenir le domaine sous l'Ancien RégimeAdministrateurs révolutionnaires du district de Vendôme, acteurs de la redistribution des biens noblesInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription en 1948
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine located?
Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine is located in Morée, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine built?
Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine open to visitors?
Ancien manoir, dit Porte de la Perrine is currently closed to visitors.