Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir, located in Plounévez-Quintin (Département 22), 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
- Plounévez-Quintin, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.2999, -3.2404
- Mérimée Reference
- PA22000061
In the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, the Kerhir lodge has defied the centuries thanks to its walls and roof made entirely of slate slabs - a rare example of the most archaic Breton rural architecture.
History
Nestling in the deep bocage of Plounévez-Quintin, right in the heart of the Côtes-d'Armor region, the Kerhir "lodge" house is one of the most striking examples of Breton vernacular architecture. Its uniqueness lies in the almost exclusive use of local schist, a flaky schist stone that the builders were able to transform into a complete building material: dry-stacked or earth-mortared walls, a roof covered with thick slate tiles laid in flakes, and monolithic lintels carved from the mass. The result is a building of absolute formal coherence, where minerality reigns from the ground to the ridge. What makes Kerhir truly unique is the integrity of its state of preservation. While most of Brittany's shepherds' lodges and shelters disappeared under industrial slate or cement rendering during the 20th century, this one has retained its original appearance, with its stones laid in a progressive overhang to ensure watertightness, its narrow openings reminiscent of the climatic constraints of Central Brittany, and its slightly depressed position to protect it from the prevailing westerly winds. The visit is first and foremost a sensory experience: approaching this small building at the bend in a sunken lane is to perceive at a glance how Breton farmers and craftsmen came to terms with the geology of their land. The texture of the schist, which changes colour with the light - bluish grey in the rain, almost mauve in the low evening light - gives the building an exceptional photographic presence. The landscape setting adds to the emotion: the area around Plounévez-Quintin, between the valleys of the nascent Blavet and the moors of the central Armorican massif, is a transitional territory where schist stone outcrops everywhere, giving the traditional buildings their characteristic dark hue. The Kerhir lodge fits into this natural setting as if it had sprung directly from it.
Architecture
The Kerhir lodge is a perfect illustration of the principle of necessity-based architecture: building with what the ground has to offer, with no resources other than the skill of the builders. The local slate, quarried at shallow depths in the surrounding outcrops, is used in all its forms. The walls, generally between fifty centimetres and one metre thick, are made up of irregular courses of slabs laid in horizontal beds, sometimes lined with a block of split rubble. The corners are reinforced with slabs chosen for their straightness, forming corner chains without any careful cutting. The roof is the most spectacular feature: entirely covered with schist lauzes - large, hand-split slabs - laid in an overhang that increases from the bottom towards the ridge, it rests directly on purlins made from chestnut wood, a moisture-resistant species widely used in Central Brittany. The absence of a tile or mortar ridge, replaced by slabs laid astride the ridge, is a remarkable technical detail that testifies to the mastery of local craftsmen. The building has a compact rectangular plan, with a single main room lit by one or two openings with monolithic lintels. The doorway, the jamb of which is carved from a single slab of dressed schist, leads to an interior space with a floor of beaten earth or rough flagstones. The overall impression is one of total minerality and absolute authenticity, a rare quality in contemporary Breton rural buildings.
Related Figures
Artisans maçons locaux anonymes du XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle, maîtres de la technique des lauzes de schistePaysans et journaliers agricoles de Kerhir, usagers de la loge sur plusieurs générationsConservateurs de la DRAC Bretagne ayant conduit l'inventaire du patrimoine rural à l'origine de la protectionÉlus de Plounévez-Quintin ayant soutenu la démarche d'inscription aux Monuments Historiques aboutie en 2020
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir located?
Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir is located in Plounévez-Quintin, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir built?
Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir open to visitors?
Maison ou « loge » en dalles de schiste de Kerhir is currently closed to visitors.