Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais, located in Guéhenno (Département 56), 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
- Guéhenno, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9058, -2.6165
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091238
A jewel of the second Breton Renaissance, the three-storey stone manor house of Le May stands in Guéhenno. Saved from abandonment at the last minute, this 16th-century seigniorial dwelling features elegant architecture set between a courtyard and the Morbihan countryside.
History
In the heart of rural Morbihan, between moorland and bocage, the manor house of Le May stands out as one of the most intact examples of seigniorial architecture from the Second Renaissance in inland Brittany. Built around 1570, it presents a coherent whole in which Breton sobriety meets the new decorative grammars that came from Italy and spread throughout the kingdom of France. What distinguishes Le May from a simple agricultural manor house is the quality of the composition of its layout: a three-storey staircase pavilion, the real vertical centrepiece, articulates two angled main buildings, which are joined by a symmetrical wing. This rigorous organisation, far from being trivial, betrays the hand - or at least the inspiration - of a cultured patron, anxious to place his residence within the architectural canons of his time. The staircase tower, an element of prestige par excellence in 16th-century Brittany, signals the dignity of the place from afar. The visitor experience here is not like that of the great tourist châteaux with their furnished lounges and costumed guides. Le May offers something rarer: direct contact with an architecture that is in the process of being rediscovered, in an unspoilt rural landscape. Lovers of the archaeology of buildings, photographers in search of authentic light and enthusiasts of local heritage will find inexhaustible material here. The granite stones, the proportions of the bays and the surviving sculpted details speak of a modest but refined aristocratic way of life. The manor's discreet charm is enhanced by its surroundings. Guéhenno itself is a remarkable village, famous for its 16th-century calvary - one of the finest parish enclosures in Brittany - making it a logical stop-off on a tour dedicated to the heritage of inland Brittany. To visit Le May is to immerse yourself in the depths of Brittany, far from the crowds of the coast, in the heart of an area where every stone tells the story of several centuries of intertwined seigneurial and peasant history.
Architecture
The Le May manor house belongs to the architectural vocabulary of the second Breton Renaissance, a time when Italian forms, filtered through the royal building sites of the Loire and Île-de-France, penetrated the countryside of the duchy in a form adapted to local materials and traditions. The building is based on an angled plan, articulated around a three-storey stair pavilion - a typical feature of wealthy Breton manor houses in the late 16th century, where the stairwell became a veritable symbol of social distinction. A wing joins the tower, balancing the overall composition and giving it a certain symmetry. The facades, built of granite - a material that is ubiquitous in inland Morbihan - probably feature mullioned or transomed windows typical of the provincial Renaissance, framed by pilasters or plain mouldings. The pedimented dormers, if they exist, are part of the vertical elevation favoured by this period. The roof, steeply pitched in accordance with Breton custom, is covered in slate, a prestigious material extracted from regional quarries. The interior was organised around rooms with monumental fireplaces, distributed from the central staircase that forms the heart of the circulation. Despite the damage suffered during the period when it was abandoned, most of the masonry structure has survived, making it possible to restore the building after it was listed in 1993.
Related Figures
Seigneurs anonymes du fief de Porhoët (suzerains du manoir)Commanditaire inconnu de la construction vers 1570 (seigneur de la paroisse de Guéhenno)Membres du SIVOM du canton de Saint-Jean-Brévelay (sauveurs du manoir, acquisition fin XXe siècle)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais located?
Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais is located in Guéhenno, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais built?
Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais open to visitors?
Manoir de Le May, appelé aussi Le Mée, ou Lemais is currently closed to visitors.