Rural heritage
Noble and peasant housing
Do you prefer castles and manor houses that make you feel like a king or queen, or do you have much simpler tastes? In the Land of the King Morvan, you'll find every style of home!
The noble residences
At the end of the Middle Ages, the great seigneuries were broken up to the benefit of the lesser nobility, who hastened to build themselves fine residences; an auspicious period for the development of Breton manorial architecture. Although many noble residences have disappeared, the region still boasts a large number of châteaux and manor houses, with a notable concentration in the vast commune of Ploërdut. Most of them are now in private hands, although a few are open during the summer season or for heritage events.
Kermain Manor 15th - 16th century
The Manoir de Kermain in Langonnet is open to visitors during the European Heritage Days. Activities can be organised to mark the occasion. To find out more about the history of the manor and its surroundings, a short monograph was produced by three UBO students in 2017 as part of a tutorial project for the Master's degree in Architectural and Artistic Heritage Management." More than ten thousand manor houses dotted the Breton countryside in the Middle Ages. [...] More than half of them have disappeared, others are badly altered and a minority have been carefully restored: Kermain is one of these. [...] Cécile and Carlo Rosolen fell under the spell in 1998 and embarked on a major restoration project: Kermain, listed as a Historic Monument, was saved."
Patrick Kernevez - Lecturer in medieval history and Director of the IUP Patrimoine (Quimper)The twentieth century was particularly devastating for Guémen's heritage: for the castle, three-quarters of which was dismantled in 1927, and for other ancient buildings, sacrificed on the altar of modernisation.
What remains of the castle has since been enhanced, the ramparts restored and a museum created. A heritage protection and enhancement policy launched some thirty years ago is continuing today, at both municipal and inter-municipal level. As well as the castle, many other heritage features have been saved and enhanced.
The fabric of this medieval town is still clearly visible in the main street. Stone and timber-framed houses from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries line this old "Grand' Rue", which has retained its striped layout. The architectural evolution is clearly visible and bears witness to the town's prosperous past. Surrounded by a dense network of waterways, the town also boasts a rich heritage linked to water, which can be seen in the many wash-houses and fountains that line the streets. For centuries, the presence of the Scorff river has been a key factor in the development of the town's craft industries. In addition to the various mills along its course, tanneries have been in operation since the late Middle Ages.
Kerservant manor house in Ploërdut - 15th - 17th century
The current manor house, built in 1610, retains many remains and the old outbuildings of an earlier construction. In 1396, the manor became part of the Principality of Rohan-Guémené and was destroyed in 1595 during the Wars of Religion (Catholics against Protestants).
Château du Coscro in Lignol - 17th century
Mr and Mrs Piquet acquired the property in 1984 and set about restoring it in keeping with its history; their approach is exemplary in terms of restoration projects. In 2002/2003, under the authority of the Direction régionale de l'Archéologie and the Direction régionale des Affaires Culturelles, they decided to carry out an archaeological study led by Anne Allimant Verdillon, a garden archaeologist. Since 2005, based on this study, two landscape architects have been working on the restoration of the original 17th-century garden. Work began in 2008 and continues to this day.
For a number of years now, Château du Coscro has also been a key venue for the Lieux mouvants, a unique cultural event organised every summer by the Dialogues avec la Nature association in the natural areas of Central Brittany. Urbanisation moved westwards and developed around the market square, where the covered market was built at the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century, on the initiative of the Boutteville family, who were undoubtedly keen on art and architecture; the chapels of Saint-Fiacre and Sainte-Barbe are part of their legacy.
The Place des Halles was originally lined with houses of character. Beautifully decorated 16th and 17th century dormer windows still adorn those that survived the destruction of the 20th century. There are no, or no longer any, timber-framed houses as in Guémené-sur-Scorff; many of the houses surrounding the square had awnings on pillars. The last house of this type, in rue du château, disappeared in the second half of the 20th century.
At the south-west corner of the square, the Ursuline convent is a 17th-century building founded by the Dufresnay family, lords of Le Faouët since 1655. The Ursuline order was a congregation of teaching nuns. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Le Faouët provided education for young noble girls and girls from good families, unfortunately excluding the most modest.
The Revolution, followed by the 1905 law separating Church and State, led to the definitive departure of the Ursuline sisters in 1923. The teaching mission was taken over by the Sisters of Jesus of Kermaria in the Sacred Heart School. The large L-shaped building, with its main building and chapel, was reinvested in the 1980s and became the Musée des Peintres du Faouët in 1987.
Minguionnet manor house in Gourin - 14th - 15th century - ISMH, interior and exterior
The manor house belonged to the de Kergoët family as early as 1300, and remained in their possession until the 17th century. In 1993, the building had to be dismantled, having fallen into disrepair with no potential buyer. Its new owner had it listed as a Historic Monument in 1999. Recent excavations have uncovered glass from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, as well as a wealth of pottery, stained glass, keys, pipes and terracotta. Menguionnet is open all year round by telephoning 0660576548, and during the European Heritage Days and the Journées du Patrimoine de Pays et des Moulins.
Rural architecture
The rural habitat is relatively well preserved in this inland part of the region, particularly in the upperScorff valley. In this region, far from the major towns and communication routes, 19th-century buildings have been in the minority. Passing through the villages provides a glimpse of the wide variety of older buildings.
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