Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel
MonumentHidden Treasure
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel, located in Bono (Département 56), 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
- Bono, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6446, -2.9255
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091049
Clinging to the side of a hill in Brittany, this 16th-century chapel reveals a sacred spring nestling beneath its chevet and an elegant Renaissance-style façade, a discreet jewel in the Aurigan countryside.
History
In the heart of Le Bono, a Breton village nestling in a meander of the River Auray, Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel chapel stands out as one of those monuments that you discover almost by surprise, suspended between heaven and earth on the hillside. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1925, the chapel's acknowledged heritage value is well worth a visit, although it remains little-known to the general public. What immediately distinguishes Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel from the countless other chapels in Brittany is the uniqueness of its topographical and liturgical layout. Built on a natural slope, it offers visitors a disconcerting architectural experience: you enter the nave on the same level, but the choir is suddenly two or three metres above the ground, as if raised skywards on its rock base. Beneath the gable end of the chevet, a small niche houses a spring that feeds a swimming pool, a precious vestige of the healing places of worship dotted around deepest Brittany. The interior is full of surprises too. A wooden vault covers the nave, while two ogival arches, in a sober and nervous Gothic style, extend the walls to cross the transepts. The contrast between this structuring Gothic style and the Renaissance accents of the north side facade and the main facade creates a rare stylistic tension, typical of Breton buildings erected at the height of the transition between the Middle Ages and modernity. Outside, visitors are greeted by a forecourt below a semi-circular surrounding wall, from which a staircase leads up to a calvary. This ensemble forms a complete devotional space, in which each element - the spring, the pool, the Calvary, the chapel - works together to create a place of pilgrimage that is both intimate and structured. The golden light of late afternoon, which cuts through the reliefs of the Renaissance façade, also makes it an ideal subject for photographers.
Architecture
Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel chapel has a modest Latin cross plan, adapted to the constrained topography of the hillside on which it stands. The nave, which is level at the entrance, gives way to an overhanging choir, raised two to three metres above the natural ground - an arrangement that betrays the complexity of the terrain and gives the interior an unusual spatial dynamic. Two ogival arches, in a pared-down late Gothic style, link the nave to the arms of the transept, creating a structural articulation that is both functional and elegant. The wooden vault that covers the nave, probably panelled, is typical of Breton rural chapels that did not have the resources needed for a stone vault. Outside, the main facade and the north side facade display a remarkable Renaissance style, with pilasters, classical mouldings and elaborate window surrounds contrasting with the sober Gothic style of the whole. The bell tower, rebuilt in 1842, crowns the building with its sober neo-Breton silhouette. Under the gable end of the square apse, a stone niche houses the spring, which has been converted into a swimming pool, making this outer wall a veritable open-air devotional feature. The forecourt, bordered by a semi-circular perimeter wall and served by a staircase leading up to the modern calvary, is a combination of stone and vegetation characteristic of the Breton genius loci.
Related Figures
Les maîtres maçons bretons anonymes du XVIe siècle, artisans de la synthèse gothique-Renaissance de l'édificeLes architectes diocésains du XIXe siècle, responsables de la reconstruction du clocher en 1842Les paroissiens pèlerins des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, dont la ferveur autour de la source sacrée a assuré la pérennité du monumentLes membres de la Commission des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit et prononcé l'inscription de 1925
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel located?
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel is located in Bono, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel built?
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel open to visitors?
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel is currently closed to visitors.