Manoir du Bas-Cousse
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir du Bas-Cousse, located in Vernou-sur-Brenne (Indre-et-Loire), 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
- Vernou-sur-Brenne, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4474, 0.8448
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098284
Nestling in the Brenne valley, the Manoir du Bas-Cousse boasts a flamboyant Gothic chapel of rare sophistication, with its ribbed vaults decorated with cherubs.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
In the heart of the Loire Valley, in the commune of Vernou-sur-Brenne, the Manoir du Bas-Cousse is one of those discreet jewels that Touraine knows so well how to hide between its tufa slopes and its vineyards. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1947, this 16th-century manor house epitomises rural seigniory in all its Renaissance dignity, a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the great châteaux of the Loire Valley, but still a precious example of architectural authenticity. What really sets Bas-Cousse apart from its Touraine counterparts is its square pavilion and the seigniorial chapel on the ground floor. A veritable showcase of stone, this private liturgical space boasts a rib-and-brace vault of remarkable geometric design: the ribs meet around a circular rib concentric with the central keystone, creating a suspended rosette effect that testifies to the skill of the stonemasons of the Loire Valley during the Renaissance. The bases sculpted with cherubs and fantastical animals at the ends of the arches give the whole a decorative vitality typical of the late flamboyant Gothic style. A visit to the estate also includes a cylindrical fuye, the tower-shaped dovecote that once signalled the rank and privileges of the lord of the manor - only nobles were allowed to own one. Now partly ruined, this round tower still stands silhouetted to the west of the courtyard, a melancholy reminder of the daily life of the small provincial nobility of the Ancien Régime. The verdant setting of Vernou-sur-Brenne, just a few kilometres from Vouvray and the banks of the Loire, gives the manor house a soothing, timeless atmosphere. Photographers and lovers of Gothic architecture will find some striking angles here, particularly on the pavilion buttresses crowned with their elegant domes. For the curious visitor, Bas-Cousse is an ideal complement to a tour of the manor houses and wine estates of eastern Touraine.
Architecture
The Manoir du Bas-Cousse consists of a main rectangular building, the seigneurial dwelling itself, to which is attached a remarkably elaborate square pavilion. This pavilion, supported at the south-west, south-east and north-east corners by soberly elegant buttresses, forms the centrepiece of the architectural ensemble. These buttresses do not rise all the way to the ridge, but are cushioned at the level of the floor of the upper storey by small stone domes, a decorative motif that betrays the influence of the early Touraine Renaissance on a structure that is still Gothic in essence. The seigniorial chapel, which occupies the entire ground floor of the pavilion, is the masterpiece of the site. Its vaulting over ogives and liernes with prismatic mouldings deploys a system of ribs of uncommon geometric sophistication for a building of this size: a concentric circular rib links the liernes around the central keystone, creating a star-shaped network of beautiful spatial coherence. Five keystones - the central one and four intermediate ones - originally bore sculpted pendants that have now disappeared, the absence of which suggests an ambitious iconographic programme. The corner caps, on which the ogives fall, are adorned with finely carved cherubs and fantastic animals, in the tradition of the Loire workshops of the early 16th century. To the west of the courtyard preceding the dwelling stands the fuye cylindrique, a tower-shaped dovecote whose ruinous state does not detract from its architectural presence. Built using local stone - probably the white tufa typical of Touraine - this tower bears witness to the noble status of the former owners and completes a coherent ensemble that perfectly illustrates the manorial architecture of the Loire Valley at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de la baronnie de l'Île-Bouchard (suzerains médiévaux du fief du Bas-Cousse)Famille seigneuriale commanditaire de la chapelle gothique (XVIe siècle, identité non établie)Tailleurs de pierre tourangeaux ayant réalisé les voûtes à ogives et liernes (premier XVIe siècle)Propriétaires successifs de l'Ancien Régime ayant maintenu le domaine jusqu'à la RévolutionFonctionnaires des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription en 1947
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir du Bas-Cousse located?
Manoir du Bas-Cousse is located in Vernou-sur-Brenne, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Manoir du Bas-Cousse built?
Manoir du Bas-Cousse dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir du Bas-Cousse open to visitors?
Manoir du Bas-Cousse is currently closed to visitors.