Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, located in Cléden-Poher (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
- Cléden-Poher, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2354, -3.6696
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089871
A jewel of 16th-century Cornish architecture, the church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in Cléden-Poher features a balustraded bell tower, a projecting porch and an ossuary adorned with a skeleton with a scythe - a striking memento mori carved into Breton granite.
History
Nestling in the heart of Poher, a region in the interior of Finistère whose name evokes the old Celtic Cornouaille, the church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in Cléden-Poher is one of those discreet buildings that, in just a few square metres of granite, encapsulate the essence of Breton Renaissance architecture. Far from the crowds that flock to Saint-Thégonnec or Guimiliau, it offers an intimate, almost confidential experience that lovers of authentic heritage will particularly appreciate. What immediately sets Notre-Dame de l'Assomption apart is the fact that it is a typical Cornish church: a bell tower with a finely crafted balustrade, a projecting porch on the side of the nave, a flat apse and no transept - all features that give it a strong architectural identity, unique to the parishes of the bishopric of Cornouaille. The building is constructed from local granite, a material as austere as it is durable, which Breton stonemasons have worked with remarkable precision and inventiveness. The interior is full of surprises: the nave, interrupted in the fifth bay by a step and a low grille, bears witness to a liturgical reorganisation linked to the installation of altarpieces, probably in the 17th century. This unusual layout creates an effect of depth and solemnity, dividing the space into two zones with distinct atmospheres. The altarpieces themselves, in the characteristic Breton Baroque style, add to the iconographic richness of the whole. But it is perhaps the ossuary, the small rectangular building adjoining the church, that strikes visitors most forcefully. Its narrative sculptures - a skeleton brandishing a phylactery and a scythe on one side, an angel with a phylactery on the other - constitute a dialogue between death and grace, a theological face-off rendered in stone with a rare intensity. Allow a good hour's visit to appreciate the entire parish route, from the porch to the ossuary, including the sculpted details of the three-lobed windows.
Architecture
Notre-Dame de l'Assomption has an elongated plan with a single nave and no transept, ending in a flat chevet - a simple, effective layout typical of rural churches in Cornwall. The balustraded bell tower, a distinctive feature of Cornish architecture, surmounts the western façade or the side of the building and testifies to the mastery of the Renaissance vocabulary introduced to the Armorican peninsula by Breton journeymen returning from Italy or the Loire. The projecting porch, another signature of the Cornish style, is a real architectural space in between, adorned with figure niches and finely worked arcatures in the local granite. The tri-lobed windows, particularly the four small openings on the west façade of the ossuary, illustrate the subtle dialogue between the flamboyant Gothic heritage and the new forms imported from the Renaissance. The ossuary itself is a small rectangular building with a single nave, whose west door is surmounted by an accolade arch - a late Gothic motif - and framed by Renaissance pilasters, a typical example of "dressed Breton Gothic". The north gable of the ossuary is adorned with two strikingly expressive figurative crosses: on the west side, a skeleton holding a phylactery and a scythe, symbolising universal death; on the east side, an angel also holding a phylactery, a figure of hope and divine judgement. This iconographic dialogue, carved in Finistère grey granite, is one of the most evocative sculptural ensembles in 16th-century Breton funerary statuary.
Related Figures
Saint Clétien (ou Clédéon) — saint éponyme légendaire de la paroisse, figure de l'évangélisation bretonne du haut Moyen ÂgeLes fabriciens anonymes du XVIe siècle — notables locaux commanditaires des deux grandes campagnes de constructionLes maîtres tailleurs de pierre cornouailliers — compagnons itinérants auteurs des sculptures de l'ossuairePierre-Jakez Hélias — écrivain breton du XXe siècle dont l'œuvre éclaire la culture paroissiale et funéraire dont cet édifice est un témoignageLes recteurs successifs de Cléden-Poher — clercs animateurs de la vie paroissiale du XVIe au XIXe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption located?
Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption is located in Cléden-Poher, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption built?
Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame de l'Assomption is currently closed to visitors.
