Maison du 16e siècle
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 16e siècle, located in Quimperlé (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
- Quimperlé, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8704, -3.5488
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090391
A jewel of 16th-century Breton civil architecture, this timber-framed house in Quimperlé is striking for its corbelled upper storey and perfectly preserved medieval silhouette.
History
In the heart of Quimperlé, a double town built between two rivers - the Isole and the Ellé - this 16th-century house embodies with rare authenticity the art of building in wood that characterised the prosperous market towns of Finistère Brittany during the Renaissance. Its timber-framed façade, punctuated by the skilful interweaving of half-timbering and cob, is still in dialogue with the surrounding medieval urban fabric, making the old town of Quimperlé one of the best-preserved heritage sites in southern Finistère. What sets this residence apart from the multitude of timber-framed houses dotted around Breton towns is its corbelled upper storey - or overhanging corbel - covered in local slate. This construction technique, which involved extending each upper storey beyond the lower load-bearing wall, reflects the skills of local carpenters and an economic rationale specific to merchant towns: to gain more living space without encroaching further on the roadway, while sheltering the ground floor from the heavy Armorican rains. The visitor experience is above all exterior and sensory. The house is part of a discovery trail through the lower town of Quimperlé, around the remarkable Sainte-Croix abbey church and the cobbled streets that radiate out from the former Place du Trésor. To look at this façade is to take in five centuries of silent history in a single glance, to imagine the merchants, craftsmen and notables who crossed the threshold when Quimperlé lived under the tutelage of the Benedictine abbey. The setting of the lower town - its tightly-packed houses, cobbled streets and proximity to the River Ellé - amplifies the authentic atmosphere. For lovers of heritage, photography and vernacular architecture, this house is a must-see, especially as it is part of a group of remarkable old houses that together form an exceptional testimony to Breton town planning in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Architecture
The house has a timber-framed structure typical of Breton Renaissance civil architecture, with an oak frame forming the main load-bearing framework, with the spaces between the uprights and cross-members filled with cob or brick walling. The street façade reveals the ornamental vocabulary typical of 16th-century bourgeois homes: moulded flashings, sculpted runners and carefully crafted corner posts marking the corners of the building. The most striking feature is the corbelled upper storey: the upper volume overhangs the street, supported by carved wooden corbels or exposed overhanging joists. This feature, characteristic of medieval towns and the early Renaissance in France, gives the façade its distinctive vertical rhythm and provides more living space upstairs, where the owner usually lived, leaving the ground floor for commercial or craft activities. The corbelled roof is covered in Brittany slate - blue-black schist quarried in the region - providing effective protection from the elements, while visually uniting the façade with the characteristic Finistère colour palette. In its size and proportions, the house reflects the standards of sixteenth-century provincial bourgeois construction: modest in size, it makes up for it in the quality of its workmanship and the expressiveness of its corbelling, making it a figurehead in the urban landscape of Quimperlé's old town.
Related Figures
Alain Canhiart — comte de Cornouaille, fondateur de l'abbaye Saint-Colomban en 1029, dont le développement conditionna l'essor urbain de QuimperléLes charpentiers anonymes du XVIe siècle — artisans locaux maîtrisant la technique du pan de bois et de l'encorbellementLes moines bénédictins de l'abbaye de Quimperlé — qui structurèrent la ville basse et son économie pendant des sièclesMarchands et notables quimperlois du XVIe siècle — commanditaires probables de ce type de demeures représentatives de la prospérité commerciale bretonne
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 16e siècle located?
Maison du 16e siècle is located in Quimperlé, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison du 16e siècle built?
Maison du 16e siècle dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 16e siècle open to visitors?
Maison du 16e siècle is currently closed to visitors.