Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux
ManorHidden Treasure
Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux, located in Planguenoual (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
- Planguenoual, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5339, -2.5874
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089394
The enigmatic remains of a vanished manor house, the dovecote at Vaujoyeux is astonishing for its rare quatrefoil floor plan and barrel vaults - a medieval architectural curiosity nestling in the heart of Brittany.
History
In the heart of the commune of Planguenoual, in the Côtes-d'Armor region, stands a silent and fascinating reminder of a seigniorial residence that has now disappeared: the dovecote of the former Vaujoyeux manor house. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1982, this apparently modest building nevertheless conceals an architectural singularity that sets it apart from all other Breton dovecotes: its four-lobed plan, made up of four interlocking circular lobes forming a cross with rounded arms, gives it a silhouette that is absolutely unique in the regional heritage landscape. Far from the great fortresses and prestigious châteaux of the past, Vaujoyeux is an invitation to a different kind of contemplation, one of rare detail and masterful craftsmanship. The building bears witness to the care taken, even with utilitarian buildings, by the Breton lords of the late Middle Ages and the modern period. Each tower of the quadrilobe is topped with a cul-de-four vault - a process more often associated with the apsidioles of Romanesque churches than with rural dovecotes - and the whole structure is covered with planks laid in heaps, a stone bonding technique that gives the building remarkable solidity and a sober aesthetic, typical of Armorican granite. The experience of visiting is one of intimate discovery. There are no flashy decorations or tourist attractions: the dovecote can be approached in the calm of the Breton countryside, surrounded by hedged farmland and sunken lanes. It's here that the attentive visitor discovers the full value of local heritage, the kind that doesn't feature in the major guidebooks but which, precisely for that reason, is a source of genuine emotion. Architects, art historians and lovers of medieval curiosities will all find food for thought here. The natural setting of Planguenoual, just a few kilometres from the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, adds to the charm of the visit. The changing light of the Breton sky plays on the grey stones of the dovecote, revealing new nuances in the texture of the granite every hour of the day. A must-see on any itinerary dedicated to the manor houses and small seigniorial heritage of the Côtes-d'Armor.
Architecture
The dovecote at Vaujoyeux owes its fame to its four-lobed plan, a composition made up of four circular apses radiating out from a central core, like a four-leaf clover. This spatial organisation, rare in French rural civil architecture, creates a volume that is both compact and dynamic, where the curves respond to each other with elegant regularity. Each of the four towers thus formed is covered by a cul-de-four vault - a hemispherical half-dome characteristic of Romanesque art - a technical solution that ensures excellent load distribution while giving the interior a contemplative, almost liturgical atmosphere, surprising for a farm building. The materials used are local: Armorian granite, extracted from local quarries in Côtes-d'Armor, makes up the bulk of the masonry. The roof is made of "platins" - small slates or flat stone slabs - laid in "tas de charge", a traditional bonding technique in Brittany that consists of superimposing the roofing elements by progressively interlocking them, without mortar, which ensures lasting waterproofing and great resistance to the Atlantic weather. This mastery of the load-bearing pile testifies to the high level of skill of the craftsmen who erected the building. The interior of the dovecote was originally designed to accommodate boulins - niches for pigeons - running the full height of the curved walls, as was common practice in prestigious dovecotes. The four-lobed shape increased the available surface area and made it possible to house a considerable number of pairs of pigeons, a sign of the lord's power and wealth. The ensemble is stylistically and technically coherent, evoking the Breton architectural skills of the 15th and 16th centuries, at the crossroads of late Gothic influences and the first manifestations of the Renaissance in the minor arts.
Related Figures
Famille noble de Vaujoyeux — seigneurs fondateurs du manoir, probablement issus de la petite noblesse bretonne des Côtes-d'ArmorMaître maçon anonyme — artisan breton qui conçut le plan en quadrilobe et maîtrisa le voûtement en cul-de-four du pigeonnierService des Monuments Historiques — autorité ayant prononcé le classement de l'édifice le 29 décembre 1982
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux located?
Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux is located in Planguenoual, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux built?
Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux open to visitors?
Ancien manoir de Vaujoyeux is currently closed to visitors.