Manoir de Roudourou
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de Roudourou, located in Plouisy (Département 22), 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
- Plouisy, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.5669, -3.1625
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089493
Nestling in the Breton countryside of Plouisy, Roudourou manor house displays the sober elegance of Armorican granite in its 17th and 18th century volumes, an authentic testimony to the rural nobility of Brittany.
History
The Roudourou manor house stands in Plouisy, in the Côtes-d'Armor region, like an intact fragment of Brittany's rural aristocracy in modern times. Far from the ostentation of the great châteaux of the Loire, it embodies the discreet, tenacious architecture that provincial nobles were able to impose on their landscape, using granite as their only material and sobriety as their only ornament. What sets Roudourou apart from the multitude of Breton manor houses is the coherence of its buildings, which testify to the continuity of seigneurial life over two centuries. The seventeenth century gave it its solid foundations and original massing, while the eighteenth century refined its proportions and introduced a more classical sensibility to the design of its openings and outbuildings. This superimposition of two eras, visible in the stone itself, makes the manor house an architectural palimpsest of rare legibility. To visit Roudourou is to immerse yourself in the gentle countryside of Brittany, where centuries have left little trace. The land surrounding the manor has retained its agricultural character, and the ensemble - main building, outbuildings, enclosure - forms a harmonious whole that the eye can take in in a single movement. Photographers and lovers of picturesque atmospheres will find it a rare setting, where the grey stone blends into the changing light of the Armorican sky. The manor house will appeal above all to enthusiasts of rural heritage, who are sensitive to the buildings that made French history outside the royal courts. It represents deep-rooted Brittany at its most authentic: a land where people built to last, with the resources of the soil, without making concessions to fashion or the ephemeral.
Architecture
The Roudourou manor house is in the tradition of Breton manor house architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries, characterised by the exclusive use of local granite, a material that gives the building its distinctive grey colour and proverbial robustness. The main, single-storey dwelling features a sober facade with rectangular or segmentally-arched windows framed in carefully-cut granite, in a symmetrical layout that reflects the classical influences of the 18th century. The roof, which is steeply pitched as is customary in Brittany to cope with the harsh climate, is covered in slate, a material that is emblematic of Armorican architecture. The massive and numerous chimney stacks attest to the quest for interior comfort that is typical of quality homes. Together with the main building, the outbuildings - outbuildings, stables and farm accommodation - form an enclosed or semi-enclosed complex, organised around an inner courtyard in a pattern recurrent in the manorial tradition of the Trégor region. Noteworthy architectural features include the pedimented or bracketed dormers that pierce the roof, adding a touch of measured elegance to the façade. The door frames, carved from granite with particular care, bear witness to the skills of local craftsmen and the desire of those who commissioned them to assert their status through the quality of the detail. The whole, despite its apparent sobriety, reveals to the attentive observer a real mastery of Breton architectural composition.
Related Figures
Famille seigneuriale fondatrice du XVIIe siècle (identité non formellement établie), commanditaire de la construction initiale du manoirPropriétaire du XVIIIe siècle ayant conduit la campagne d'embellissement classique du domaineInspecteur des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier de protection menant à l'inscription de 1964Tailleurs de pierre bretons anonymes du Trégor, artisans du granit ayant bâti et sculpté l'essentiel de l'édifice
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de Roudourou located?
Manoir de Roudourou is located in Plouisy, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir de Roudourou built?
Manoir de Roudourou dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de Roudourou open to visitors?
Manoir de Roudourou is currently closed to visitors.