Manoir à l'Evêque
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir à l'Evêque, located in Saint-Malo (Département 35), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Manor
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Saint-Malo, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6310, -2.0155
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090966
The last remains of the minor seminary at Saint-Servan, this manor house built by Garengeau in 1727 embodies the austere elegance of the Malouinières, with its period woodwork and granite grand staircase.
History
Nestling in the urban fabric of Saint-Malo, the Manoir à l'Évêque is a remarkable survivor: the only vestige of a vast architectural ensemble that has now disappeared, it bears eloquent testimony to the art of building in Saint-Malo at the turn of the 18th century. Far from the splendour of the nobility, this manor house represents the ideal of the medium-sized "malouinière" - the country dwellings that shipowners and middle-class citizens of Saint-Malo built around the corsair town, combining discretion and granite solidity. What sets this manor house apart is precisely the tension between its episcopal function and its architectural restraint. Designed to house the bishop of Saint-Malo, it could have become overly ostentatious. Not so: the façade, punctuated only by its carefully ordered openings, imposes an almost monastic rigour that is not without its grandeur. It's easy to see why the Malouinières school is considered to be an authentic expression of French provincial classicism. The interior is full of surprises. The elegantly crafted and well-preserved woodwork on the ground floor displays the sophistication expected of an episcopal residence. The granite staircase, with its elaborate wooden handrail and banister, is in itself a masterpiece of Breton carpentry and stonemasonry, combining two materials in a skilful dialogue. The setting of the manor house, set in the centre of a plot of land enclosed according to the canons of the malouinière style, gives an idea of how it was once organised: central dwelling, outbuildings on the periphery, courtyard and walled gardens. Although the outbuildings were demolished in the 1960s, the main dwelling retains the spirit of the self-sufficient organisation typical of the great families of Saint Malo. To visit the Manoir à l'Évêque is to grasp an intact fragment of a Saint-Malo that no longer exists.
Architecture
The Manoir à l'Évêque is resolutely in the tradition of the Malouinières, the characteristic homes of the Malouin region built by shipowners and notables between the end of the 17th and the middle of the 18th century. Its plan is compact and massive, centred on a main dwelling set in the heart of a wall enclosure, in a pattern that is almost invariable in this type of regional building. The sober, symmetrical facade is enlivened only by the regular rhythm of its small-timbered windows, with no superfluous sculptural ornamentation or prominent eaves: austerity is elevated to the level of an aesthetic principle, typical of the provincial classicism that Garengeau spread throughout the region. The materials used are local: Breton granite, omnipresent in Malouin construction, gives the building its solidity and its characteristic grey-blue hue. The roofs, probably made of Anjou slate as was customary in high-quality 18th-century Breton architecture, crown simple volumes with pronounced slopes. The overall impression is one of permanence and seriousness, perfectly suited to the building's dual role as a residential and ecclesiastical residence. The interior contains the manor's real treasures. The ground floor boasts fine period woodwork, panelling and wainscoting worked with a delicacy that contrasts with the severity of the exterior - in keeping with the logic of the Malouin region, where luxury is displayed out of sight. The granite staircase with carved wooden banister and riser is the building's technical and aesthetic pièce de résistance: this combination of hard stone and carved wood is a signature of Breton craftsmanship in the first quarter of the 18th century, and its state of preservation bears witness to the original quality of execution.
Related Figures
Chevalier de Garengeau (1647-1741) — ingénieur en chef de Saint-Malo, architecte du manoir en 1727, figure centrale de l'urbanisme malouinÉvêque de Saint-Malo — destinataire originel du manoir, représentant d'un diocèse parmi les plus anciens de BretagneVauban (1633-1707) — bien que non directement lié au manoir, il est le mentor technique de Garengeau et l'instigateur des fortifications de Saint-Malo dont Garengeau était l'exécuteur
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir à l'Evêque located?
Manoir à l'Evêque is located in Saint-Malo, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir à l'Evêque built?
Manoir à l'Evêque dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir à l'Evêque open to visitors?
Manoir à l'Evêque is currently closed to visitors.