Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan)
MonumentHidden Treasure
Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan), located in Perret (Département 22), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Perret, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2007, -3.1261
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089378
On the edge of the Quénécan forests, the Forges des Salles form an intact 17th-century industrial complex, with a manor house, workers' accommodation and a tanning mill that is unique in Brittany.
History
Nestling in a lush green setting in the heart of the Roi Morvan region, the Forges des Salles are one of the most complete and best-preserved examples of early metalworking in Brittany. This vast industrial complex, which stretches between the communes of Perret and Sainte-Brigitte in Morbihan, offers a fascinating insight into the world of 18th-century blacksmiths, which has been frozen in amber since operations ceased for good in 1879. What strikes visitors straight away is the remarkable coherence of the site: nothing here has been rebuilt for tourist purposes. The castle of the ironmaster, an elegant slate building, stands next to rows of workers' dwellings, stables, sheds and warehouses, forming an authentic industrial village that seems to have stood the test of time. Functional architecture rubs shoulders with a certain Breton sobriety, a world away from the exuberance of the Loire. The site also owes its uniqueness to its exceptional hydraulic system: four ponds fed the wheels of the forges, the largest of which - the Etang des Salles - covers almost thirty hectares. Today, this network of controlled waterways transforms the estate into a lakeside landscape of soothing beauty, ideal for lovers of photography and contemplative walks. As the tour progresses, the Forge Neuve building reveals its technical treasures: a tanning mill and a refinery chimney, the like of which can be found nowhere else in Brittany. These structures bear witness to a sophisticated industry, capable of processing ore using the most advanced methods of the time, and producing kettles, galettoires, yards and cast-iron balls for regional and military markets. A blend of industrial history, rural architectural heritage and the bounty of nature, the Forges des Salles embody a little-known Brittany, the land of the bold entrepreneurs and silent workers who shaped the economic landscape of Ancien Régime France. The Forges des Salles is a monument that has been listed as a Historic Monument twice over, but is still visited by a small number of people - much to the delight of those in the know.
Architecture
The Forges des Salles complex is a veritable industrial village, organised around the production buildings and associated housing structures. All the buildings are constructed from schist, the grey-blue schist stone that is characteristic of the subsoil in the Côtes-d'Armor and Morbihan regions, and covered with local slate in bluish tones - a sober, harmonious colour palette that blends naturally into the surrounding hedged farmland. The château of the master forger, built during the reconstruction of 1750, has the architecture of a provincial manor house without excessive ostentation: balanced volumes, small-paned windows and a slate gable roof. The rows of workers' dwellings, known as "les rangées", align their modest facades in a functional layout that anticipates the workers' housing estates of the 19th century. The carpenter's house, more individualised, reflects a social hierarchy in the distribution of dwellings. The utilitarian buildings - sheds, warehouses, stables - erected under the Janzé family in the first half of the 19th century, adopted larger dimensions and slightly more industrial construction techniques, while preserving local materials. The most remarkable element from a technical point of view remains the Forge Neuve building, which houses two devices that are unique in Brittany: a tan mill (used to grind oak bark for tanning) and a refinery chimney, a tall masonry structure that bears witness to the stages in the refining of raw metal. The hydraulic system completes the ensemble admirably: the four artificial ponds, linked by canals and locks, formed a water regulation system that continuously fed the driving wheels of the hammers and bellows, whatever the season.
Related Figures
Henri II de Rohan — duc de Rohan, chef du parti calviniste, initiateur de la modernisation des forges et introducteur de la technique indirecte en Bretagne (1621)Geoffroy de Finement, sieur d'Angecourt — maître métallurgiste sedanais, responsable de la fenderie créée en 1621Famille de Rohan — seigneurs propriétaires du domaine depuis le Moyen Âge jusqu'à la fin de l'Ancien RégimeFamille de Janzé — propriétaires au XIXe siècle, auteurs des travaux d'extension réalisés avant 1842Les maîtres de forge régisseurs du XVIIIe siècle — gestionnaires anonymes mais essentiels de la période de plein essor de la production
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan) located?
Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan) is located in Perret, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan) built?
Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan) dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan) open to visitors?
Anciennes forges des Salles (également sur commune de Sainte-Brigitte, dans le Morbihan) is currently closed to visitors.