Manoir de la Chouanière
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de la Chouanière, located in Montreuil-sur-Maine (Maine-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Manor
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Montreuil-sur-Maine, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6706, -0.7290
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109209
Nestling in the Mayenne bocage, the sober elegance of the 17th and 18th century Chouanière manor house evokes the Vendée uprisings, the memory of which is said to be preserved in its tufa stone walls.
History
In the heart of the Nord-angevin bocage, between the gentle valleys of the Maine and its tributaries, the manor house of La Chouanière stands as a discreet but striking testimony to the rural seigneurial architecture of the Pays de la Loire region. Its very name - la Chouanière - carries with it all the charge of a tormented era, that of the wars in the West that bloodied this region at the end of the 18th century, making these isolated manor houses refuges, observation posts or rallying places for the royalist insurgents. Unlike the great houses of the Loire, which display their splendour on the banks of the river, the manor house of La Chouanière cultivates a restrained elegance, typical of the noblesse de robe and country gentry who populated these lands between Anjou and Maine. The measured volumes, the sobriety of the facades and the quality of the local materials - limestone and white tufa stone characteristic of the Anjou subsoil - make up an ensemble that seduces by its authenticity rather than its ostentation. The visit offers an intimate insight into manorial life in the 17th and 18th centuries, a far cry from spectacular reconstructions: here, it is the patina of time, the coherence of proportions and the harmony of the building with its hedged environment that create emotion. Lovers of rural civil architecture will find it an inexhaustible source of observations, while regional history buffs will be able to let their imaginations run wild about the events that may have taken place within these walls in the days of the Chouans. The surrounding natural setting adds an appreciable landscape dimension to the visit: the wet meadows of the Val de Maine, the centuries-old hedgerows and the silence of the Anjou countryside form a setting that photographers and nature lovers will appreciate at any time of year. A memorable stop-off on the rural heritage trails of Maine-et-Loire.
Architecture
The Manoir de la Chouanière is typical of 17th and 18th century Anjou manor house architecture: a sober, compact main building with a rectangular floor plan, probably flanked by agricultural outbuildings that underline the property's residential and agricultural vocation. The facades, probably built of local limestone rubble or tufa - a light, easy-to-work white stone that is ubiquitous in the region's architecture - are organised according to a classical symmetry tempered by the discretion typical of middle-ranking rural dwellings. The openings - mullioned or transomed windows for the oldest parts, more soberly framed bays with flat pilasters for the 18th-century additions - punctuate the elevations with measure. The roofs, typical of Maine-et-Loire, are probably covered in Trélazé slate, the blue-black slate that covers almost all of Anjou's built heritage and gives it its distinctive visual identity. Pedimented or bull's-eye dormers pierce the roof and light up the attic, a common feature of manor houses of the period. The interior undoubtedly retains elements of decoration and joinery characteristic of the two centuries of construction: fireplaces with moulded mantels, wood panelling and parquet flooring testifying to the skills of local craftsmen. The ensemble is completed by a farmhouse or outbuildings which, together with the main dwelling, form a coherent composition, partially enclosing a courtyard or forecourt, following the model of the manor house with an enclosed courtyard so common in the north Angers bocage.
Related Figures
Famille seigneuriale locale (XVIIe siècle) — premiers bâtisseurs probables du manoir, appartenant à la petite noblesse ou à la bourgeoisie terrienne angevinePropriétaires du XVIIIe siècle — responsables des remaniements et agrandissements qui donnèrent au manoir sa physionomie actuelleChefs chouans locaux (1793-1800) — insurgés royalistes dont la présence supposée dans le manoir lui valut son nom évocateur de ChouanièreGeorges Cadoudal (1771-1804) — chef chouan breton dont l'action rayonna sur tout l'Ouest insurgé, illustrant le contexte dans lequel baignait le manoirPropriétaires du XIXe siècle — familles bourgeoises ou nobles ayant maintenu la demeure pendant la longue période post-révolutionnaireConservateurs des monuments historiques (1973) — autorités patrimoniales ayant reconnu la valeur architecturale du manoir et assuré sa protection officielle
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de la Chouanière located?
Manoir de la Chouanière is located in Montreuil-sur-Maine, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Manoir de la Chouanière built?
Manoir de la Chouanière dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de la Chouanière open to visitors?
Manoir de la Chouanière is currently closed to visitors.