Maison du 17e siècle
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 17e siècle, located in Bazouges-la-Pérouse (Département 35), 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
- Bazouges-la-Pérouse, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4253, -1.5745
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090504
Au cœur de Bazouges-la-Pérouse, cette maison à pans de bois en encorbellement dressée sur un rez-de-chaussée en granit taillé incarne l'art urbain breton du XVIIe siècle dans toute sa sobriété élégante.
History
Nestling in the medieval market town of Bazouges-la-Pérouse in Ille-et-Vilaine, this timber-framed house is one of the most authentic examples of Breton civil architecture from the Grand Siècle. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1930, it illustrates with great purity the building tradition that governed the rural and commercial towns of Upper Brittany at the time. What makes this building truly singular is the meeting of two building cultures in a single structure: cut granite, a noble and enduring material extracted from Brittany's quarries, forms a solid and austere ground floor, while a full storey of timber panelling is corbelled over the passageway, overlooking the street in a position that is both functional and theatrical. This duality of materials and techniques, far from being insignificant, betrays the relative affluence of the clients and their mastery of the architectural codes of the period. Corbelling - the characteristic overhang where the upper storey overhangs the street - offered an undeniable practical advantage: more living space without encroaching on the public thoroughfare, while protecting passers-by and shopfronts from the elements. In the Breton towns of the 17th century, this type of building was often the home of a prosperous merchant, a notary or a renowned craftsman. Today, the house is an integral part of the heritage landscape of Bazouges-la-Pérouse, a village listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France" and boasting a remarkable collection of old buildings. Take a stroll through the narrow streets and you'll see this jewel in its original urban context, among other houses and the church of Saint-Pierre, which has watched over the village since the Middle Ages. For the attentive visitor, the half-timbered façade is an open-air lesson in vernacular architecture.
Architecture
The building is based on a bipartite construction logic typical of inland Brittany in the 17th century. The ground floor is made entirely of cut granite, a material that is emblematic of the region, the carefully matched blocks of which give the base of the house an austere solidity and verticality. This hard stone foundation contrasts visually and symbolically with the upper storey, which is timber-framed. This storey is distinguished by its corbelling: it projects above the ground floor thanks to a system of projecting beams and joists, a technique known as "jetée" or "hourdis", which made it possible to extend the floor surface without additional foundations. The wooden posts and braces - probably made of local oak - form an orthogonal and diagonal network typical of 17th-century Breton and Norman urban buildings, with the spaces between the timbers filled in with cob or brick. The roof, probably made of Anjou or Breton slate, completes this composition with a sober ridge line. The facade as a whole demonstrates an economy of ornamental means typical of the Breton building tradition: no trompe-l'œil pilasters or pediments, but the raw beauty of the materials, the precision of the carpentry joints and the interplay of light and shadow generated by the overhang of the corbelling on the cobbled street below. Today, this sobriety is what gives the building its documentary and aesthetic value.
Related Figures
Commanditaire inconnu (probable bourgeois ou marchand local, XVIIe siècle)Charpentiers et maçons locaux bretons (bâtisseurs anonymes de l'édifice)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (instructeurs de la protection en 1930)Édouard Corroyer (architecte inspecteur général, pionnier de la protection du patrimoine civil breton au XIXe siècle)Prosper Mérimée (premier inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques, dont l'action posa les bases des inventaires patrimoniaux du XIXe siècle)
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 17e siècle located?
Maison du 17e siècle is located in Bazouges-la-Pérouse, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison du 17e siècle built?
Maison du 17e siècle dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 17e siècle open to visitors?
Maison du 17e siècle is currently closed to visitors.
