Manoir de la Noë Verte
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de la Noë Verte, located in Lanloup (Département 22), 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
- Lanloup, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.7067, -2.9788
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089255
Nestling in the Breton countryside of Lanloup, this small 15th-16th-century fortified manor house conceals a secret staircase leading to an underground escape route - one of the best-preserved mysteries of the Costarmorican heritage.
History
Far from the main tourist routes that criss-cross Brittany, the Manoir de la Noë Verte reveals itself to those who know how to look: a majestic avenue of trees, a traditional Breton two-leaf gate, and suddenly, behind the crenellated enclosure, the squat silhouette of a fortified manor whose grey stones have survived six centuries without ever showing their age. What immediately distinguishes La Noë Verte from dozens of Breton manor houses of similar size is the coherence of its ensemble: the main courtyard flanked by its outbuildings, the dovecote outside the walls, a reminder of the seigniorial privileges of the Ancien Régime, and above all the corner watchtower that bears witness to a time when mistrust was the first virtue. The building bears the marks of a two-stage construction process - the original fifteenth-century structure surrounded by two round turrets, and the straight extension added in the following century - and these successive additions give it a slightly asymmetrical, lively, almost narrative silhouette. Inside, the attentive visitor will be struck by the 18th-century wood panelling that decorates one of the rooms: soberly elegant carved panelling, a reminder that the manor house enjoyed a period of refinement long after its military beginnings. But it is undoubtedly the staircase on the rear facade that will capture the imagination the most: accessible only from the first floor and serving only the basement, it does not resemble any logical circulation circuit and can only be explained by one hypothesis - an underground escape route to disappear far from the enclosure in the event of danger. The setting adds to the enchantment. Lanloup, a commune in the Goëlo region between Paimpol and Saint-Brieuc, has a discreet hedged farmland, punctuated by embankments and sunken lanes. La Noë Verte - whose name evokes a green spring or waterhole - fits perfectly into this tranquil, almost motionless landscape, where time seems to have stood still somewhere between the end of the Middle Ages and the French Revolution.
Architecture
The Manoir de la Noë Verte is in the tradition of the small fortified Breton manor houses of the late Middle Ages, characterised by the sobriety of their materials - local granite dominates, cut into regular rubble for the surrounds and turrets - and by a spatial organisation based on the separation between the main courtyard, accessible through a double-leaf gate, and the main dwelling. Two cylindrical turrets frame the original 15th-century main building, giving it a defensive silhouette typical of the Goëlo region; the right-hand side, added in the 16th century, extends the Renaissance style while preserving the harmony of the grey granite. The masonry enclosure that surrounds the courtyard deserves particular attention: its corner watchtower, a small corbelled turret pierced with archways, is a reminder that the manor house was designed as a refuge as much as a residence. Outside this enclosure, the circular dovecote - a tangible sign of seigniorial rights - completes the ensemble with a volumetry characteristic of 16th-century Breton footed dovecotes. Inside, the layout of the rooms reveals superimposed logics: the vaulted ground floor, the upstairs rooms, one of which retains its 18th-century panelling with pilasters and moulded cornices, and the enigmatic staircase on the rear facade which, as it is only accessible from the upstairs and descends directly to the basement, remains one of the most unusual architectural features of the manor house. The steeply pitched roofs, covered in Breton-style Anjou slate, give the building its dark, compact silhouette, fully rooted in the Lanloup countryside.
Related Figures
Famille seigneuriale fondatrice du XVe siècle (identité non établie, probablement issue de la petite noblesse du Goëlo)Seigneur bâtisseur du XVIe siècle (maître d'ouvrage de l'extension droite et de l'agrandissement Renaissance)Propriétaires du XVIIIe siècle (commanditaires des boiseries intérieures, témoins du raffinement des Lumières en Bretagne rurale)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de la Noë Verte located?
Manoir de la Noë Verte is located in Lanloup, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir de la Noë Verte built?
Manoir de la Noë Verte dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de la Noë Verte open to visitors?
Manoir de la Noë Verte is currently closed to visitors.