Maison d'Hennebont
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison d'Hennebont, located in Hennebont (Département 56), 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
- Hennebont, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8025, -3.2807
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091284
A 16th-century Renaissance house in Hennebont, remarkable for its mullioned window and its timber-framed and brick rear building, a rare example of Breton Renaissance civil architecture.
History
In the heart of the medieval Morbihan town of Hennebont, on the banks of the River Blavet, stands one of the most beautiful 16th-century houses in Lower Brittany. Listed as a historic monument since 1925, this urban residence has survived nearly five centuries without losing most of its original architectural features, making it an exceptional example of Breton middle-class living during the Renaissance. What immediately distinguishes the house from other buildings in Hennebont is the elegant canted window in the north-west corner. This feature, typical of Breton Renaissance houses with watch-towers or oriel windows, provided generous light to the corner rooms and asserted the owner's social status on the street. The finesse of the stonework bears witness to the skills of the local master masons, heirs to a flamboyant Gothic tradition that was gradually enriched by new influences from Italy and the Loire. Behind the main façade is an adjoining annexe, built around the same period, where the stone gives way to a timber-framed and brick structure. This mix of materials, typical of the port and trading towns on the Blavet estuary, provides a striking contrast and reminds us that 16th-century Brittany was a crossroads for construction techniques, with its Norman carpentry tradition and local granite masonry. Visiting this house, even from the street, is an invitation to slow down in the historic centre of Hennebont. It is a natural part of a heritage trail that includes the medieval ramparts, the Notre-Dame-du-Paradis basilica and the town's fortified gates. To the attentive eye, every detail - moulding, bonding, proportion of bays - tells a page in the social and economic history of a prosperous town at the dawn of the Modern Age.
Architecture
The house is typical of Breton Renaissance architecture: a compact volume, an ordered facade and a decorative focus on the openings. The most striking feature is the canted window in the north-west corner, an architectural device that enlivens the junction of two facades while providing an unobstructed view of the street. This window, whose jambs and transom are probably moulded in the Renaissance style - bases, leafy capitals, basket-handle or round arches - illustrates the spread of new forms in Breton provincial civil architecture in the mid-16th century. The walls of the main facade are probably made of granite, a material that is ubiquitous in Morbihan, carefully cut for the window surrounds and corner quoins. The steeply pitched roof, in keeping with Breton tradition, was probably originally covered with slate from Anjou or Finistère, a material that became popular in wealthy urban housing in Lower Brittany from the 16th century onwards. In the courtyard or below the street, the adjoining outbuilding represents a second major architectural interest. Its timber-framed structure with brick infill bears witness to a different building tradition, closer to the techniques of northern and eastern France, adapted here for use as a service or warehouse. The combination of granite masonry and timber framing on the same plot of land reflects the technical diversity and economic vitality of Hennebont at the time of the Renaissance.
Related Figures
Commanditaire anonyme de la Renaissance bretonne (négociant ou officier de justice hennebontais, 3e quart XVIe siècle)Maître-maçon local (artisan inconnu, auteur de la fenêtre en pan coupé, milieu XVIe siècle)Inspecteurs des monuments historiques (rapporteurs de l'inscription de 1925, représentants du service des Beaux-Arts)Érudits de la Société Polymathique du Morbihan (XIXe siècle, recenseurs du patrimoine civil breton)
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison d'Hennebont located?
Maison d'Hennebont is located in Hennebont, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison d'Hennebont built?
Maison d'Hennebont dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison d'Hennebont open to visitors?
Maison d'Hennebont is currently closed to visitors.