Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert
MonumentHidden Treasure
Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert, located in Penmarch (Département 29), 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
- Penmarch, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8094, -4.3470
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090152
A 15th-century medieval vestige in Penmarch, this tithe barn in Pors-Lambert is striking for its pointed-arch vaulted passageway and finely carved third-point door, discreet reminders of a prosperous maritime Brittany.
History
In the heart of the Bigouden peninsula, in the commune of Penmarch, whose name alone evokes centuries of maritime and farming history, stands a seemingly modest yet exceptionally elegant building: the Pors-Lambert tithe barn. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1926, this 15th-century building belongs to that category of agricultural and tax buildings that discreetly dot the rural heritage of deepest Brittany, often forgotten, rarely celebrated, but bearers of an economic and social memory of unsuspected richness. What strikes you at first sight is the architectural quality of the whole, despite its functional nature. The building takes the form of a single-storey vaulted passageway, with a pointed-arched doorway at each end - a characteristic feature of the Breton flamboyant Gothic style. The main door, known as a "tiers points", is adorned with carefully profiled archivolts, a detail that betrays the ambition of its patrons and the care taken even with utilitarian buildings during this period of prosperity for trade in Finistère. The first floor, lit by a mullioned bay, would have been used as a counting or storage room for the grain collected for the tithe, the ecclesiastical tax that deducted one tenth of the peasants' harvests. The ground floor, now transformed into the entrance to a farmyard, bears witness to the gradual conversion of these structures over the centuries, when the tithe was abolished during the Revolution. The Pors-Lambert barn is thought to be just one part of a larger complex that has now largely disappeared. This parcelling out of heritage, which is common in rural Brittany, gives what remains the value of a fragment of a jigsaw puzzle of which only a few pieces remain. It is precisely this incompleteness that gives the building its aura of mystery and makes it so interesting to medieval heritage researchers. For the curious visitor, the building makes an unusual stop-off on an exploration of the Bigouden coast, among the calvaries and chapels that dot this land deeply marked by faith and hard work. Photographers and enthusiasts of medieval architecture will find plenty of material for beautiful compositions, particularly in the low-angled light of the morning or late afternoon, when the stone takes on golden hues.
Architecture
The Pors-Lambert tithe barn is a remarkably well-preserved example of 15th-century Breton utilitarian architecture, combining functionality with the aesthetic appeal of the regional flamboyant Gothic style. The building consists of a main structure built around a vaulted passageway with a pointed arch doorway at either end. This cross-porch layout is typical of buildings used for transit, allowing carts loaded with foodstuffs to enter and leave. The most remarkable feature is the door on the ground floor, carved in a third-point form - a variant of the pointed arch where the radius of the two arches is equal to the width of the opening - and framed by carefully profiled archivolts. This sculpted detail, reminiscent of the portals of contemporary Breton chapels, testifies to the mastery of local stonemasons and the symbolic importance attached to the main entrance. The local stone, probably Finistère granite with its characteristic bluish-grey tones, gives the building a typically Breton robustness and austerity. The first floor, accessible from the inside, is lit by a mullioned bay - a window divided vertically by a stone upright - which brings light and ventilation to the storage area. This bipartite layout of the façade, combining a functional ground floor with a storage storey, corresponds to a logical and widespread layout in ecclesiastical barns of the period. Although reduced to a single pavilion of a larger building, the ensemble offers a coherent and legible interpretation of 15th-century Breton Gothic construction techniques.
Related Figures
Chanoines du chapitre de Quimper — commanditaires probables de la construction et percepteurs de la dîme dans le pays bigoudenRecteurs paroissiaux de Penmarch (XVe-XVIIIe siècles) — administrateurs locaux de la dîme collectée à Pors-LambertMembres de l'Assemblée nationale constituante (1789) — auteurs de l'abolition de la dîme qui rendit caduque la fonction première de l'édificeInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (années 1920) — responsables de l'identification et de la protection de l'édifice en 1926
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert located?
Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert is located in Penmarch, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert built?
Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert open to visitors?
Grange à dîmes de Pors-Lambert is currently closed to visitors.