Manoir de Vauclerc
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de Vauclerc, located in Plémy (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
- Plémy, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.3574, -2.6469
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089412
A seigniorial vestige on the borders of Brittany, the manor of Vauclerc in Plémy reveals a Renaissance doorway with sculpted finials and the ghostly silhouettes of its vanished towers, markers of a forgotten power.
History
In the heart of the Corlay region, in the bocage of the Côtes-d'Armor, the manor house of Vauclerc stands like a fragment of aristocratic memory. What remains today is just the tip of what was once a considerable estate: the surrounding land still contains the foundations of collapsed buildings, inner courtyards and main buildings that bear witness to the estate's former size. The masterpiece that has survived is undoubtedly the gateway to the manor house, whose sculpted finials reveal the Renaissance sensibility that prevailed on Breton building sites at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. These discreet but meticulous floral ornaments are the signature of local craftsmen who assimilated the new decorative vocabulary that came from Italy through the major French royal commissions. Around the surviving main building, the substructures of a round tower in the forecourt are a reminder that Vauclerc was not just a residence for pleasure: the building had a strong defensive character, a legacy of the troubles of the League that bloodied Brittany at the end of the 16th century. This flanking tower, now reduced to its foundations, is a reminder of the way in which the small provincial nobility controlled their territory. For the attentive visitor, Vauclerc offers a rare experience: that of a monument that speaks as much by its absence as by what it preserves. Walking around the site is like reading the history of a Breton country estate, mentally reconstructing the silhouette of its slate roofs and the liveliness of its cobbled courtyards. The bocage setting amplifies this impression of plunging into a suspended past.
Architecture
The Manoir de Vauclerc is a typical example of a late-Renaissance Breton manor house, built in the style of the rural nobility of the Côtes-d'Armor region: the main building is made of local cut stone, probably schist or granite, materials that are ubiquitous in traditional buildings in central Brittany, topped with a slate roof from Anjou or inland Brittany. The most remarkable architectural feature to have survived is the entrance door, whose sculpted finials are precious evidence of Renaissance decoration in Brittany. These ornaments in the form of stylised flowers, applied to the door's keystones or architrave, reflect the influence of French and Italian models disseminated by the royal shipyards along the Loire, adapted here by Breton stonemasons. The door would have been framed by pilasters or profiled mouldings, according to the decorative grammar in vogue between 1550 and 1650. The spatial organisation of the estate, which can be seen in the substructures that are still visible, is based on an enclosed or semi-enclosed courtyard, with a main dwelling, outbuildings and farm outbuildings arranged around a central space. The round tower in the forecourt, whose foundations have survived, probably measured around ten metres in diameter and was used to watch over and control the entrance to the estate - a flanking device typical of Breton seigneurial architecture during the Wars of Religion.
Related Figures
Famille seigneuriale de Vauclerc (XVIe siècle) — probable commanditaire des travaux de construction du manoirArtisans tailleurs de pierre bretons (XVIe-XVIIe siècle) — auteurs des ornements sculptés de la portePetite noblesse du pays de Corlay — propriétaires successifs du domaine aux XVIIe et XVIIIe sièclesAdministrateurs des Monuments Historiques (1926) — responsables de l'inscription protectrice du manoir
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de Vauclerc located?
Manoir de Vauclerc is located in Plémy, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Manoir de Vauclerc built?
Manoir de Vauclerc dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de Vauclerc open to visitors?
Manoir de Vauclerc is currently closed to visitors.