And continuing on my road warrior mode this time going back to the old Bretagne ; but again taking you and me to a new town, Amazing my belle France, beauties all over, I had a long road trip and on the way back passed by this little town and decided to slow down even stop for a few souvenirs of my passage in my life’s travels, This is a bit on the former Chapelle Saint Michel of Derval and al. !
The town of Derval is located in the Loire-Atlantique department 44, in the Pays de la Loire region., It is on the north side of the Loire Atlantique about 50 km from Nantes and Rennes, 25 km from Châteaubriant and 40 km from Redon. It is about 127 km from my house.
The parish of Derval is mentioned several times in the 9C in the charters of the cartulary of Redon, but it is only in the 11C that the lords of Derval appear. The lords of Derval built a feudal castle. The lord of Derval Guillaume I, took part in 1203 in the States gathered in Vannes to avenge the death of Prince Arthur of Brittany and he was, in 1212, witness to the marriage contract of André de Vitré with Catherine of Brittany , On May 19, 1451 , Derval was erected into a barony by Duke Pierre II in favor of Jean de Malestroit, who had become lord of Derval in 1435. The barony passed to the Rieux family in 1482, Laval, following the marriage of Françoise de Rieux with François de Laval , Baron de Châteaubriant, then to that of the Montmorency-Condé by donation in 1539 by Jean de Laval to the Constable Anne de Montmorency.
The former Saint-Michel Chapel, built in 1877 on the initiative of Émilie Chérel, On her death in 1887, Mrs Chérel donated the chapel to the town of Derval as well as the adjoining hospice, then under construction, The Chapel no longer used for worship for many years For more than a century, it will house the mass celebrated for the residents of the adjoining hospice, which will later become the Val d’Émilie retirement home. When the retirement home was decommissioned in 2006, the town kept the old chapel as part of its heritage. Now adjoining the new musical center, fitted out by the Châteaubriant-Derval community of towns in one of the buildings of the former retirement home. It will now play a new role, oriented towards culture. It will host concerts and exhibitions within its walls. Desacralized at the start of the year, the city council renamed it Espace Émilie-Chérel, in memory of its generous donor.
Other things to see here me think are : The castle oratory (end of the 19C), located in the castle and built on the site where the priory and the chapels dedicated to Saint Clair and Saint Denis were once located. The calvary of Plessis (15C-19C), located on the road to Mouais , the shaft of the cross was restored in the 19C. The Château de la Garrelaye (14-16C).
The town of Derval on its heritage: http://www.derval.fr/fr/information/96890/patrimoine
The Châteaubriant tourist office on the regional heritage: http://www.tourisme-chateaubriant.fr/decouvrir-la-region/
There you go folks, another dandy find in my road warrior ways of my lovely old Bretagne ,even if now is in Pays de la Loire (born in 1955), and my belle France, It always amaze me of the beauties of the road, This was a first time passing and nice looking little chapel, had no choice to stop and see, Hope you enjoy the post on the Chapelle Saint Michel and al. of Derval as I,
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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