Maison située à Le Coudray
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison située à Le Coudray, located in Lanouée (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
- Lanouée, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9880, -2.5379
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000009
In the heart of rural Morbihan, this house in Le Coudray boasts a dormer window dating from 1630 decorated with a carved chalice - a rare religious symbol engraved in Breton stone, a discreet testimony to a 17th century in full spiritual effervescence.
History
In the discreet market town of Lanouée, in the heart of inland Brittany, the Maison du Coudray stands with the elegant restraint of a middle-class residence from the second quarter of the 17th century. Aligned with neighbouring buildings, it makes no attempt to dominate the landscape: instead, it blends in with it with quiet assurance, reserving its ornaments for those who take the time to look up. The most precious feature of this dwelling is a detail that the untrained eye might miss: the dormer window on the façade, whose lintel bears a partly enigmatic inscription and the engraved date 1630. At the top of the pediment, a sculpted chalice - a powerful Eucharistic symbol - gives this residence an unexpected spiritual dimension for a domestic building. This religious motif, often associated with clients close to the clergy or the pious families of the Counter-Reformation, radically sets the Maison du Coudray apart from the ordinary civil architecture of the region. The main façade, facing south to catch the precious Breton light, is punctuated by five windows spread across the floors, giving the whole a balanced and serious composition. The interior layout, with a single room on each floor, reflects the customs of the period: economy of space, functionality and a strong sense of verticality. There's nothing ostentatious about it, just an architectural coherence that speaks to its patrons better than a coat of arms. To visit the Maison du Coudray is to venture into a Brittany that is far from the beaten track, one of silent villages and monuments that don't flaunt their age. The undeciphered inscription on the lintel remains a complete mystery, an open invitation to the curiosity of epigraphists and lovers of local history. This monument, listed as a Historic Monument since 1996, is well worth a visit, notebook in hand.
Architecture
The house at Le Coudray is typical of Breton civil architecture from the first third of the 17th century, characterised by its sober volumes and sparing use of ornamentation. The building, aligned with the neighbouring buildings in keeping with the logic of the rural village, faces south on its main facade, the preferred orientation for maximising sunlight under the often overcast skies of inland Morbihan. Five windows punctuate the façade with regularity, linking the different levels in a symmetrical and controlled composition, without trying to imitate the decorative research of the late Renaissance then in vogue in the homes of the nobility. The most remarkable architectural feature is undoubtedly the dormer window on the façade, whose pedimented structure is the only concession to a certain monumentality. The lintel, bearing an inscription and the date 1630, and the pediment, adorned with a finely sculpted chalice, make this top element the house's true aesthetic and spiritual manifesto. This type of dormer with a decorated triangular pediment is typical of Breton architecture from the early 17th century, and can be found in both manor houses and middle-class houses in the region. The interior layout, organised around one room per floor, reflects the tradition of the Breton vertical dwelling, where the superimposition of spaces replaces the horizontality of more developed plans. The materials used are probably local granite, the dominant stone in traditional construction in inland Brittany, robust and unchanging, which goes some way to explaining the building's good state of preservation after nearly four centuries of existence.
Related Figures
Commanditaire anonyme de 1630 — probablement un bourgeois ou notable local proche du clergé, auteur de la maison et du décor sculpté à caliceArtisan-tailleur de pierre local — sculpteur du calice eucharistique et de l'inscription du linteau, représentant de l'artisanat breton du XVIIe siècleInspecteur des Monuments Historiques (1996) — responsable de l'instruction du dossier ayant conduit à l'inscription partielle de la maison
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison située à Le Coudray located?
Maison située à Le Coudray is located in Lanouée, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison située à Le Coudray built?
Maison située à Le Coudray dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison située à Le Coudray open to visitors?
Maison située à Le Coudray is currently closed to visitors.