Paris1972-Versailles2003

The Manoir de la Touche-Carné is located at 2 Rue du Manoir in what is today call the town of Val-d’Oust (formerly Le Roc Saint André, see older posts under this name). We went by because one of my sons worked in town not far from it and we passed by. Very interesting history of our region and wonderful architecture we like.

I like to tell you now a bit more on it as not written before on this wonderful architectural and historial farm house.

The Manoir de la Touche-Carné has all the buildings constituting the manor distributed around a courtyard. As you enter, the main house, built before 1450 for the Carné family, has a square plan with a polygonal staircase tower in the corner, on the front facade; it had one wing amputated in return; another wing comprising pantry and upstairs bedroom is contiguous. A second main building, attached on the left, is an addition from the end of the 15C or the beginning of the 16C. The courtyard is closed by a 15C smallholding and a 19C stable.

Former stronghold of the family of knights of the same name, the Manoir de la Touche-Carné is at the origin of an important village which counts many old houses and gathered, in the 19C, half of the village population. The main house is today amputated of a wing in return of square on the right: the door of the staircase tower commanded the entry. On the ground floor, the two bays illuminate a single and very large room which was used, among other things, for the exercise of the administrative and judicial functions of the lord, head of this chatelaine. Upstairs, the windows separated by very large piers illuminate two areas reserved for private life and each equipped with a fireplace. The room under frame and the skylights that lit it disappeared during a repair of the frame in the 17C. However, access to the attic via the main staircase and the presence of a fireplace in this attic suggest the presence of a room under a frame. The dating is confirmed by the absence of any decoration on the facade of the house, a phenomenon characteristic of the first half of the 15C.

The building to the south of the courtyard, from the 15C, served as a farm sharing the same courtyard as the house, it was undoubtedly the main farm of the domain; its frame and roof were redone in 2004. Those of the agricultural parts, from the end of the 15C and the 19C, north of the courtyard, were redone in 2006. The ensemble of Touche-Carné still strongly evokes the lordship way of life around the 1400s.

The tourist office of the Broceliande region on the Manoir de la Touche-Carné in Val d’Oust, my lovely Morbihan breton.  Tourist office of Broceliande on Val d’Oust Manoir de la Touche-Carné

Hope you enjoy the story.  And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

And staying in my pretty Morbihan 56 of my lovely Bretagne and in my belle France; I show you Larmor-Plage. or Larmor beach.. Well yes this is a sort of beach laid back town, but the beaches here I have just passed thru as there is so much choices along the coast lol! I have a bit of a post on them in my blog.

Instead , I went for the architecture and history that I like and goes hand and hand in these neck of the woods. I have written before on this area but feel Larmor-Plage has been minimized. Time to remedy that with the bit of info on the Church Notre Dame de Larmor.

Well a bit on the town ,which is Larmor- Plage ,the town of Larmor in front of its name to that of the ancient scripture of the name of the pilgrimage Chapel Notre-Dame de L’Armor, which originally stood alone on this promontory by the sea located on the west bank of the entrance to the harbour of Lorient which marks the confluence of the Blavet and Scorff rivers, it faces the island of Groix and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Church of Notre-Dame de Larmor, is the ancient chapel of pilgrimage Notre-Dame de L’Armor, built before the creation of the town of Larmor-Plage, on the parish of Ploemeur. The building is built on a promontory near the shore which it’s situation facing the inclement weather imposes regular restorations. There are significant architectural elements of the 14C, 16C and 17C.

The Church of Notre Dame de Larmor contains remarkable objects, some in particular are the commemorative plaque, in granite, of the construction of the chapel bearing the inscription 1506; in the north porch, 12 stone statues from the early 16C representing the twelve Apostles; a carved stone group representing a Virgin of pity, composed of 6 figures, from the first half of the 16C; a 16C wooden statue depicting a Christ of pity; a carved stone group of the first half of the 16C depicting St. Roch and his chiefdoms wooden statuettes of the middle of the 16C representing Ste. Barbara and Saint Efland; an 18C wooden statuette depicting Salome; Notre-Dame-des-Anges with polychrome wooden statue of the 16C, Virgin with long tresses, a red dress and a blue coat. She carries with her right arm a Child who holds a book; an ex-voto model of the ship “Le Saint-Jean”. Frigate bearing narrow square masts. The hull is painted green, the top in black with a white line for the battery. An altarpiece called “the altar of the Jews” composed of thirty eight figures in triangle dated from the beginning of the 16C; a set of joineries of the late 17C restored , made up of three altars and three altar-pieces with an Altarpiece of the bedside with a central canvas, the Madonna and Child surrounded by Angels heads and donors.

In the lateral niches are placed the statues of Saint Efland and Ste. Barbara. The Altar, adorned with torsos columns, preserves in the niches the statue of the Good Shepherd and those of the four Evangelists. An altar in painted canvas whose central medallion represents to the Virgin and Child; the altarpieces of the lower sides of the choir with a central niche flanked by pilasters, with at the top, a painting depicting the Eternal Father. An altarpiece decorated with a statue of St. John the Baptist and carved wooden altar with garlands of flowers. An altarpiece with statue of Madonna and Child and altar on painted canvas appearing Saint Roch. We can see inscriptions: coat of arms and arms of donors. Great by the beach!

The town of Larmor-Plage has mentions of the church in French here: City of Larmor Plage on the Church

The tourist office of Lorient South Brittany on Larmor-Plage beach and church in French: Tourist office of Lorient South Brittany on Larmor Plage

And there you go folks ,another dandy in my pretty Morbihan dept 56 of Bretagne. You won’t go wrong in any of these towns by the coast not far from me! Many choices hard to choose. Hope you enjoy the different twice of the Church Notre Dame de Larmor in pretty Larmor-Plage.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Well here is one I thought have written a post on but unfortunately, I have not. I did on the abbey (see post)  but not the church in Langonnet.  The town of Langonnet is part of the Cornish area of the Morbihan dept 56 and is bordering the Côtes-d’Armor dept 22. In my lovely Bretagne of course.

Well as the saying goes ; better late than never! Here is my bit of story on the Church of St Peter and St Paul of Langonnet.

The present church was preceded by a monastic establishment founded by the monks of the Abbey of Landévennec. The Church, in its oldest parts, dates back to the 12C. From this primitive Church remains only the eastern part of the nave of Romanesque style.  In the 16C, the entire exterior was redone as well as the collateral, the font Chapel and the eastern part of the Church. The first spans of the nave are also built in the Gothic style. The ossuary and sacristy were erected in the 17C. In 1662, the Church was covered with a new roof structure. The bell tower was hit by thunder in 1844. It was crowned with a small wooden arrow covered with slate. The square tower is entirely redone between 1846 and 1873 and the steeple that overcomes it. Inside, the furniture is almost entirely crafted in the 19C.

The Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Church is in the shape of a Latin cross with a square tower at the crossroads. The west facade, from the 16C, is a fine example of flamboyant Gothic with buttresses surmounted by pinnacles. Its double door is decorated with braces and surmounted by an openwork tympanum. The south side of the nave has a square porch supported by two angular buttresses bearing the date “1523”, as well as a 17C ossuary, filling the angle between the side of the nave and the porch. It has six berries of trilobed shape.

The Saint Pierre et Saint Paul Church is 32 × 12 meters inside. The beautiful nave with three aisles covered with a framework has retained four Romanesque spans from the 12C and three others with the first spans are Gothic.   The Romanesque part of the nave alternates between a blind bay and a bay pierced with a small very splayed twin window, which are separated by engaged half-columns starting from the transoms At the base of the first half-column , there is a column-statue representing an enigmatic crouching figure holding his beard. The flat face of the capital just below bears the inscription: Jesus Nazarenus rex judeorum with the lateral face of the capital shows a Crucifixion. The Romanesque capitals constitute the main originality of the church, whether by their shapes or their patterns. They present a great diversity of very stylized sculpted decorations: crossettes, foliage, geometric decoration, mask, animals, Crucifixion surrounded by birds, character holding a cross in one hand and a wreath in the other, hand holding a cross ending in a sheaf of foliage,etc. They are part of one of the major movements of Breton Romanesque sculpture focused on geometric decoration and the stylization of figurative elements towards abstraction. Beautiful!

A bit more on direction in the tourist office of the Pays du roi Morvan in deep Cornoauille on the Church: TOurist office of Pays du roi Morvan on the Church St Pierre et St Paul of Langonnet

The deanery of the parish of Gourin on the Church St Pierre et St Paul in French with many of what I have translated above. Doyenne of Gourin on the Church St Pierre et St Paul of Langonnet

Another wonderful example of the beautiful architecture and history abound in my lovely Bretagne and my gorgeous Morbihan dept 56 in pretty Langonnet. Hope you enjoy the tour of the Church of St Peter and St Paul!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!