Ferme de Lisquily
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ferme de Lisquily, located in Mûr-de-Bretagne (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
- Mûr-de-Bretagne, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1800, -2.9861
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089350
A Breton rural gem from the 18th century, Lisquily farm is astonishing for the finesse of its sculpted decor - arched pediments, ornate bays - worthy of the finest bourgeois homes of the period.
History
Nestling in the heart of inland Brittany, at Mûr-de-Bretagne, the Lisquily farmhouse is one of the most accomplished examples of 18th-century Breton rural architecture. Far from the modest buildings you might expect to see on a farm, it reveals an architectural and decorative ambition rarely achieved in this context, testifying to the prosperity and taste of its patron. What makes Lisquily truly unique is the exceptional quality of its sculpted decoration. The door and window of the main room display remarkably fine stonework, while the two arched pediment dormers that crown the façade give it a classic elegance, more associated with the homes of notables than with country farmhouses. The air vents themselves have been carefully finished on the outside, demonstrating the attention paid to every architectural detail. The farmhouse can be appreciated as a coherent, complete whole: the main building, dating from 1722, is accompanied by outbuildings added over the decades (1754 and 1765), forming a courtyard that is typical of traditional Breton farmhouses. The ensemble has remained remarkably intact, offering visitors an almost unaltered image of a rural estate from the Age of Enlightenment. The natural setting of Central Brittany, with its moorland and hedged farmland, adds to the charm of this discovery. Mûr-de-Bretagne, bordered by Lake Guerlédan, is an area of great beauty where the architecture bears witness to the cultural exchanges between neighbouring Breton cantons, particularly with nearby Morbihan. For lovers of rural heritage and Brittany, Lisquily is an unmissable stopover, discreet yet fully revealing the building genius of 18th-century Breton craftsmen.
Architecture
The Lisquily farmhouse is based on a simple rectangular plan, typical of Breton rural architecture, but enhanced by an internal layout with "multiple cross functions" on two levels. On the ground floor, there is a living room with a richly moulded door and window, and a stable with a plain lintelled door and an air vent. The first floor houses a bedroom and an attic, in a practical vertical layout that takes up very little floor space and is suited to the terrain and climate of Central Brittany. The façade is the building's true architectural manifesto. Two dormer windows topped with arched pediments give it an elegant rhythm and a strong verticality, while the ashlar surrounds of the main bays contrast with the polychrome sandstone and schist rubble bond of the rest of the building. This combination of local materials - in a variety of shades ranging from slate grey to iron brown - and carefully-cut stone for the noble elements is typical of 18th-century Breton craftsmanship. The ornate air vents on the façade, an unusual detail for a farm building, illustrate the desire to treat the entire façade as a coherent composition. The new slate roofing, in the Breton tradition, ensures visual continuity with the original materials while guaranteeing the building's longevity. The outbuildings dating from 1754 and 1765, built in the same spirit and using the same materials, are a harmonious extension of the main building and together form a homogeneous whole, a rare example of an 18th-century Breton farmhouse that has survived in its entirety.
Related Figures
Hervé Quiterel — commanditaire et propriétaire fondateur, fit construire le logis principal en 1722Maîtres tailleurs de pierre bretons — artisans anonymes auteurs du décor sculpté, vraisemblablement actifs entre les cantons de Mûr-de-Bretagne et de Cléguérec
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ferme de Lisquily located?
Ferme de Lisquily is located in Mûr-de-Bretagne, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Ferme de Lisquily built?
Ferme de Lisquily dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ferme de Lisquily open to visitors?
Ferme de Lisquily is currently closed to visitors.