Manoir du Plessis
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir du Plessis, located in Savonnières (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
- Savonnières, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3448, 0.5631
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098104
Nestling in the greenery of Savonnières, Manoir du Plessis unfurls its Renaissance main buildings and classical alterations around an intimate 16th-century chapel, a discreet testimony to a deep and authentic Touraine.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
In the heart of Touraine, between the Loire and its tributaries, the Manoir du Plessis stands out as one of those secret buildings that rural France conceals with discreet generosity. Savonnières, a village nestling on the banks of the Cher and renowned for its petrifying caves, offers this manor a green setting where time seems to have stood still between two centuries of history. What makes Le Plessis so special is precisely its paradoxical coherence: two separate buildings, dating back to the 16th century, were joined together two hundred years later by a low connecting structure, creating an elongated, almost horizontal silhouette that hugs the land with an elegance typical of the Loire region. The ensemble does not seek the magnificence of the great châteaux of the Loire, but cultivates a refined sobriety that speaks more to lovers of authentic heritage than to hunters for pomp. The small chapel adjoining the east gable of the main dwelling is undoubtedly the centrepiece of the visit. Although it has been extensively restored, it retains the spirit of sixteenth-century seigneurial oratories, the intimate places of prayer that punctuated the daily lives of provincial noble families. Its very modesty is what makes it so charming: here, piety is not staged, it is lived. The 18th-century outbuildings harmoniously complete the ensemble, giving it the density of a true rural estate, where each building had its precise function in the manor's economy. Stables, granaries, outbuildings: the attentive visitor can mentally reconstruct the workings of a seigneurial farm under the Ancien Régime. Savonnières itself is well worth a visit: just a few minutes away, the petrifying caves and cellars dug into the tufa rock are a reminder that this region of the Loire has been shaped as much by water as by man. The Manoir du Plessis is the perfect place to spend a day exploring this inland Touraine, far from the crowds that flock to Chenonceau or Azay-le-Rideau.
Architecture
The Manoir du Plessis is an architectural composition in several phases, visible in the diversity of its volumes. The two original main buildings, built in the 16th century, are typical of Touraine Renaissance civil architecture: mullioned windows, tufa stone dormer windows, steeply pitched slate roofs and meticulous elevations that testify to the mastery of regional construction techniques. Tuffeau, a local limestone that is both light and easy to carve, is the stone of choice in Touraine and gives the building its characteristic blond hue. The connecting building added in the 18th century, deliberately low and discreet on the ground floor, plays a functional as well as an aesthetic role: it unifies the overall composition of the manor while marking a perceptible stylistic transition between the Renaissance verticality of the side wings and the classical horizontality of the central body. This intervention bears witness to the 18th-century taste for regularity and symmetry, even when applied to pre-existing buildings. The seigniorial chapel, nestling against the east gable, is a remarkable feature despite - or thanks to - its modest size. Its simple massing, typical of 16th-century rural oratories, contrasts well with the mass of the main dwelling. The eighteenth-century outbuildings, set in the continuity of the ensemble, complete the picture of a coherent rural estate, where domestic and agricultural architecture interact with the seigneurial residence in a balance typical of the Loire manor house tradition.
Related Figures
Propriétaire bâtisseur du XVIe siècle (identité non documentée), commanditaire des deux corps de logis et de la chapelle seigneurialePropriétaire remanieur du XVIIIe siècle, auteur de la réunion des deux ailes et de la construction des communsArchitecte ou maître maçon tourangeau du XVIe siècle (anonyme), héritier des traditions constructives de la LoireInspecteur des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit l'inscription de 1948, dans le cadre de l'inventaire patrimonial de l'après-guerre
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir du Plessis located?
Manoir du Plessis is located in Savonnières, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Manoir du Plessis built?
Manoir du Plessis dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir du Plessis open to visitors?
Manoir du Plessis is currently closed to visitors.