Ancienne église de Taulé
ChurchHidden Treasure
Ancienne église de Taulé, located in Taulé (Département 29), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Taulé, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6040, -3.9001
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090454
A sentinel of Breton granite, the bell tower of Taulé has towered over Finistère with its octagonal spire since the 15th century - a masterpiece of Breton Gothic architecture listed as a Historic Monument in 1914.
History
In the heart of the Pays de Léon, in the market town of Taulé just a few kilometres from Morlaix, stands one of the most unusual bell towers in Finistère. The only vestige of a former church that no longer exists, this granite tower alone embodies the virtuosity of the Breton master masons of the late Middle Ages, capable of extracting an almost lace-like elegance from the local quarries. What makes this monument truly unique is the superimposition of two perfectly distinct architectural styles. The square tower, massive and rooted in the Leonardo soil, rises progressively to an openwork upper storey with four light-filled bays, topped by a bold corbelled balustrade. Then, set back, rises the campanile: three parallel granite piers supporting the bells, terminated by gables that give rise to a remarkably slender octagonal spire. This transition between the square and the octagon is the very signature of Breton Gothic art in its full maturity. To visit this bell tower is to immerse yourself in a silent dialogue between the roughness of the material and the grace of the form. The grey-blue granite catches the light differently at different times of the day: golden in the morning sun, silver under the clouds of the Finistère, it reveals a new texture and depth at every moment. Photographers and architecture enthusiasts will find it an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The village of Taulé itself is well worth a visit. Surrounded by the hedged farmland and rivers of the Pays de Léon, it offers a typically North Finisterian setting where time seems to have come to terms with the stone. The bell tower, isolated from its original nave, takes on an almost sculptural presence in this environment, like an open-air statue that history has placed there.
Architecture
The belfry at Taulé belongs to the large family of belfries with piles in the Pays de Léon, an architectural form that is distinctly Breton, finding its most accomplished expression in the north of Finistère between the 15th and 17th centuries. Built entirely of granite, a material that is ubiquitous in this region, it develops a composition in two stages of remarkable formal coherence. The square tower, imposing and robust, forms the base of the complex. It rises several storeys before opening at the top with four round-headed or slightly ogival windows that light up the bell chamber. A finely worked balustrade, corbelled on granite modillions, crowns this floor and visually marks the transition to the upper section. This corbelled arrangement is as much a technical feat as it is an aesthetic one, reflecting the mastery of the Leonards' stonemasons. Above, the bell tower itself rises out of the way, comprising three parallel granite piers on which the bells rest. These piers end in triangular gables that give rise to a slender octagonal spire, an elegant transition between the square geometry of the tower and the sharp point that rises towards the sky. This square-octagon-spire articulation is characteristic of the best late Gothic architecture in Brittany, as seen in the famous parish enclosures of Saint-Thégonnec and Guimiliau.
Related Figures
Maîtres-maçons anonymes du pays de Léon (XVe siècle), bâtisseurs du clocherRecteurs de la paroisse de Taulé (XVe-XIXe siècles), commanditaires et gardiens de l'édificeInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (début XXe siècle), artisans du classement de 1914Tailleurs de pierre bretons du gothique flamboyant, transmetteurs d'un savoir-faire unique
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne église de Taulé located?
Ancienne église de Taulé is located in Taulé, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ancienne église de Taulé built?
Ancienne église de Taulé dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne église de Taulé open to visitors?
Ancienne église de Taulé is currently closed to visitors.