Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré, located in La Bouëxière (Département 35), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- La Bouëxière, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1929, -1.4606
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00135271
In the heart of Brittany, Chevré is an unspoilt medieval castle town: a motte, a 13th-century circular keep, a Romanesque chapel and an eight-hundred-year-old stone bridge live side by side in striking silence.
History
Nestling in the gentle hills of Ille-et-Vilaine, at La Bouëxière, the site of Chevré is one of the best-preserved examples of a small medieval castral town in Brittany. Where so many similar fortifications have disappeared under the onslaught of time or the Revolution, Chevré has survived the centuries with remarkable coherence, offering visitors an almost complete picture of a rural seigneury in the central Middle Ages. What makes Chevré truly unique is the exceptional combination of four distinct but interrelated elements: an artificial motte built around 1159-1160, the remains of a circular keep erected in the first third of the 13th century, a castral chapel whose Romanesque gable facade is still visible, and a medieval bridge crossing the pond in its original state. There are very few sites where the entire defensive, spiritual and day-to-day system of a small seigneury can still be seen at a glance. The visit is an invitation to take a trip back in time of rare intensity. You climb the motte to dominate the dry moat that surrounds it, make out the foundations of the keep among the tall grass, then walk along the farmyard towards the chapel, whose Romanesque gable still stands out against the grey Breton sky. The stone bridge, simple and solid, spans the pond with the same serenity as eight centuries ago. There are no crowds or souvenir shops here: Chevré is a place to be earned and savoured. The natural setting amplifies the emotion: the pond and its wooded reflections create a melancholy and soothing atmosphere, conducive to reflection on the fragility of seigneurial power and the permanence of the Breton landscape. Photographers and watercolourists find inexhaustible compositions here, depending on the season and the light.
Architecture
The fortified complex at Chevré is based on the classic layout of a castle with a motte and bailey, typical of the military architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries. The motte, a mass of compacted earth of significant height, is surrounded by a wide dry moat, which enhanced its defensive value by making it difficult for any attacker to approach. The remains of the circular keep, built between 1225 and 1234, can still be seen at the top of the mound. Round in plan in keeping with the military fashion of the early 13th century, it bears witness to the late but real spread of construction techniques from the French royal domain to Breton territory. To the east of the motte lies the bailey, an enclosed area that housed the farm and service buildings - stables, barns, outbuildings - traces of which can still be seen on the ground. The castral chapel, built in the last quarter of the 12th century, illustrates rural Breton Romanesque religious architecture at its most sober. Its gable facade is the architectural highlight of the site, with its carefully-cut local stonework, arched openings and discreet modelling. The walls, which were partly altered in the 16th century, still retain their original lines. The medieval bridge over the pond, in its presumed 13th-century state, is remarkable for its functional rusticity: a stone deck supported by sober arches, with no superfluous ornamentation, which says more than any words about the pragmatic beauty of utilitarian medieval architecture.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Chevré (XIIe-XIIIe siècle) — famille chevaleresque bretonne fondatrice du bourg castral, constructeurs de la motte et du donjon circulaireAnonyme architecte-maçon (vers 1225-1234) — maître d'œuvre du donjon circulaire, représentant des techniques militaires françaises diffusées en BretagneFondateur de la chapelle castrale (dernier quart du XIIe siècle) — commanditaire de l'édifice roman dont la façade-pignon subsisteDucs de Bretagne (XIIe-XVe siècle) — suzerains sous l'autorité desquels s'inscrivait la seigneurie de Chevré dans le réseau féodal bretonRemanieur du XVIe siècle — commanditaire des transformations de la chapelle à la période post-médiévale
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré located?
Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré is located in La Bouëxière, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré built?
Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré open to visitors?
Ensemble fortifié de la chapelle et du pont de Chevré is currently closed to visitors.
