Manoir de Serrain
ManorHidden Treasure
Nestling in the Anjou bocage countryside, Serrain Manor boasts the discreet elegance of 17th and 18th century rural architecture, with its well-balanced volumes and its parklands resembling unspoilt countryside.
History
The manor house at Serrain is in the tradition of the seigniorial residences of the Loir valley, just a stone's throw from Durtal, the Anjou town renowned for its castle and its medieval heritage. Far from the splendour of the great princely residences, Serrain embodies the best that provincial nobility knew how to do: sober, functional architecture, in tune with the surrounding hedged farmland, without trying to compete with the great buildings of the Loire, but drawing its formal inspiration from them. What makes the Serrain manor house unique is precisely its fidelity to a certain idea of aristocratic rural life. Built over two consecutive centuries, its walls bear the marks of family continuity and the care taken in each phase of its construction. The ordered volumes, rhythmic openings and steeply pitched slate roofs betray the influence of a reasoned classicism, typical of Anjou's provincial nobility during the Grand Siècle and the Enlightenment. A visit to Serrain is an invitation to quiet contemplation. Away from the crowds, visitors can take time to observe the way in which the buildings interact with the surrounding foliage, the enclosed courtyard and the farm outbuildings, all of which serve to remind us of the original purpose of these premises: to govern a landed estate while asserting a social status. This relationship between representation and pragmatism is one of the most rewarding insights into manor house architecture. The bocage setting, with its hedges, wet meadows and proximity to the River Loir, lends Serrain an atmosphere of intimacy and serenity that is rarely found in highly touristy monuments. Photographers and lovers of authentic heritage will find plenty to marvel at, season after season, in the soft light that bathes these tufa and slate stones.
Architecture
The Serrain manor house is typical of 17th and 18th century Anjou manor house architecture. The main dwelling, probably built of tuffeau - white limestone extracted from the cellars dug into the Loire slope, a favourite material throughout the region - has two storeys and attic space under a steeply pitched roof covered in Anjou slate. This combination of white stone and blue slate is the visual signature of the classical architecture of the Loire Valley and its tributaries. The main facade bears witness to a measured, provincial classicism: the bays of mullioned or small-wooded windows are regularly ordered, and the ashlar window surrounds are soberly moulded. A central porch or stoop with balustrade probably marks the main entrance, in keeping with the tradition of manor houses from this period. The outbuildings - outbuildings, barn and charterhouse - form a coherent ensemble with the dwelling around an enclosed farm courtyard, testifying to the mixed residential and agricultural character of this type of residence. The 18th-century alterations probably introduced more refined details: modillioned cornices, pedimented or bracketed dormers, and perhaps a carriage entrance with pilasters marking the entrance to the property. The sober, well-proportioned ensemble aptly illustrates the ideal of the provincial aristocratic country house, halfway between classical rigour and the pragmatism of the land.
Related Figures
Propriétaires seigneuriaux du XVIIe siècle ayant commandité la construction initiale du logisFamilles de la noblesse angevine de robe ayant agrandi le domaine au XVIIIe siècleAdministrateurs révolutionnaires locaux, acteurs du maintien ou du démembrement éventuel du domaineNotables bourgeois du XIXe siècle, acquéreurs successifs du manoirArchitectes des Bâtiments de France ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription MH en 1985
