Puits de Kerhoh
MonumentHidden Treasure
Puits de Kerhoh, located in Melrand (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
- Melrand, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.0067, -3.1029
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091439
A sculpted jewel from the 17th century in Melrand, the Kerhoh well features a granite superstructure in the shape of a bell adorned with cherubs and a monstrance, a rare combination of the sacred and the secular.
History
In the heart of the Pays de Pontivy, in the Breton commune of Melrand, the Kerhoh well is one of the most unusual examples of 17th-century popular religious art in Morbihan. Far from being a simple hydraulic structure, it stands out as a piece of sculpture in its own right, its granite superstructure catching the eye with its monumental bell-shaped silhouette. This small building, listed as a Historic Monument since 1934, is a wonderful illustration of the Baroque piety that pervaded inland Brittany at the time, a region where the Catholic faith was engraved in stone with a particular intensity. What makes the Kerhoh well truly unique is the rich iconography of its dome. The lower part of the superstructure is skilfully compartmentalised and decorated with sculptures of cherubs framing a monstrance, the central Eucharistic symbol in Catholic liturgy. This association between a well - a place of life and daily sustenance - and emblems of Christian devotion testifies to a vision of the world in which the sacred and the profane are never in opposition, but merge into the same reality. The upper part of the dome, meanwhile, takes the shape of a bell, with its characteristic beading imitating the hanging ears, giving the whole a striking formal coherence. This formal echo of the church bell is not insignificant: it reminds us that the water from the well, like the sound of the bell, structures the daily life of the farming community. A visit to the Kerhoh well is an invitation to slow contemplation in an unspoilt rural setting. Lovers of Breton architecture, Baroque sculpture and vernacular heritage will find plenty to think about. The monument, modest in size, reveals a symbolic and artistic complexity that makes it much more than a roadside curiosity.
Architecture
The Kerhoh well is made entirely of granite, a material that is omnipresent in traditional Breton construction for its qualities of resistance and local availability. The building consists of a circular coping topped by a superstructure whose overall shape is reminiscent of an upside-down church bell, giving the whole structure an instantly recognisable silhouette in the rural Morbihan landscape. The lower part of this superstructure is treated with remarkable sculptural care: it is divided into regular compartments, like framed panels, housing representations of cherubs in bas-relief and a finely chiselled monstrance. This Baroque decorative vocabulary, influenced by the spread of counter-Reformation iconographic models, contrasts with the usual sobriety of Breton granite and reveals the hand of an experienced stonemason, probably trained in one of the great regional workshops active in the 17th century. The upper part of the dome precisely reproduces the formal codes of the bell: the projecting beads that run around the top imitate the handles and hanging lugs of the bronze bells cast for the surrounding bell towers. This explicit formal reference establishes a strong symbolic dialogue between the well, the source of living water, and the bell, the voice of the church, uniting the two pillars of Breton rural community life in the 17th century.
Related Figures
Artisan tailleur de pierre breton (XVIIe siècle) — auteur anonyme de la superstructure sculptéeSeigneur ou curé de Melrand (XVIIe siècle) — commanditaire probable de l'ornementation religieuseCommunauté paroissiale de Melrand — dévots ayant entretenu et transmis le monumentInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1934) — ayant reconnu et protégé la valeur patrimoniale de l'édifice
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Puits de Kerhoh located?
Puits de Kerhoh is located in Melrand, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Puits de Kerhoh built?
Puits de Kerhoh dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Puits de Kerhoh open to visitors?
Puits de Kerhoh is currently closed to visitors.