Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët, located in La Trinité-Porhoët (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
- La Trinité-Porhoët, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091764
A rare example of Breton panelled civil architecture, this house in La Trinité-Porhoët combined medieval animal sculptures with Renaissance alterations before it disappeared in 2001.
History
In the heart of the market town of La Trinité-Porhoët, in this inland Morbihan that tourists pass through without always stopping, stood until the beginning of the 21st century one of the most unusual timber-framed houses in deepest Brittany. Built at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it embodied the domestic architecture of Breton villages that history has so often sacrificed on the altar of urban renewal. What set this residence apart from so many other half-timbered houses was the richness of its decorative programme. The wood panelling - entirely sculpted and moulded - incorporated animal figures, a recurring motif in popular and learned imagery from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These zoomorphic representations, often charged with moral or heraldic symbolism, transformed the façade into a veritable book of stone and wood opening onto the street, in the manner of the houses with figures found in Dinan, Vannes and Morlaix. During the first quarter of the 17th century, the house underwent a significant remodelling: the ground floor was rebuilt in granite, a prestigious material in the region, while the first-floor window was enlarged to let in more light - a testament to changing tastes and domestic comfort in the modern era. This dialogue between the elaborate framework and the granite masonry gave the building a hybrid appearance, typical of Breton transitional architecture. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to visit the building: the demolition permit granted on 23 July 2001 sealed its fate. All that remains of it are the photographic and documentary archives compiled before its destruction, precious evidence of a Breton vernacular heritage irretrievably lost. The memory of this building raises questions about policies for the protection of minor heritage, the ordinary houses that weaved the identity of small towns and that no law protected.
Architecture
The house at La Trinité-Porhoët was part of the timber-framed tradition typical of 16th and 17th century Breton civil architecture. Its load-bearing structure was made entirely of timber, with the half-timbering forming a network of posts, runners, braces and discharges that defined the bays and supported the floors. The originality of the building lay in the highly decorative treatment of the framework: the timbers were entirely sculpted and moulded, featuring animal figures that made for a veritable architectural bestiary, reminiscent of the iconographic programmes of the choir stalls or the painted runners of Breton religious architecture. The remodelling carried out in the first quarter of the 17th century introduced a significant material change: the ground floor was rebuilt in cut granite, giving the façade a bimaterial appearance - stone on the lower part, carved wood on the upper part - common in Breton transitional architecture. This granite base made the building more resistant to damp and frost, while at the same time giving it a symbolic solidity that was much appreciated by those who commissioned it. The first-floor window was also enlarged during this campaign, its new proportions reflecting the move towards wider openings characteristic of the early 17th century. The ensemble thus formed a building with two superimposed architectural registers, bringing together in a single façade two generations of construction and two distinct material cultures.
Related Figures
Propriétaires bourgeois anonymes du XVIe siècle, probablement marchands ou officiers locaux, commanditaires de la maison sculptéeArtisan charpentier-sculpteur local du XVIe siècle, auteur du programme décoratif zoomorphePropriétaire du premier quart du XVIIe siècle, maître d'ouvrage du remaniement en granitFonctionnaires municipaux de La Trinité-Porhoët, signataires de l'autorisation de démolition de 2001
Map
Coordinates not available for this monument.
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët located?
Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët is located in La Trinité-Porhoët, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët built?
Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët open to visitors?
Maison de la Trinité-Porhoët is currently closed to visitors.