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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The mansion of Belle-Noë, located southeast of the village of Dol-de-Bretagne (Ille-et-Vilaine), was built in 1710 for Georges de The Hague, lord of Andoullé and Cesson. Its architecture, typical of the first eighteenth century, combines an elongated central body flanked by two side pavilions, framed by two terraces to the east and west. The outbuildings in the south include a pan-wood stable and a double-furnished stove. The estate extends over a park of 3 hectares, preserving original ditches, gardens and alleys.

In the 18th century, the mansion passed to Gilles François Sébire, then, during the Revolution, to Denis Basile Lothon, director of estates. In 1826 he became the country residence of privateer Robert Surcouf, who had been there since 1810 to hunt and rest. The estate was transferred to its descendants and was gradually abandoned before being acquired in 1922 by the Collichet family, which exploited it as a farm. In 2005, Marie-Laure and Loïc Lemaire (descendants of Noël Nicolas Surcouf, Robert's brother) bought the property and undertook its restoration.

Ranked a historic monument in 2006, the mansion retains intact its 18th century interior and exterior arrangements. Its inscription protects the house, outbuildings, well, remains of the gate, as well as terraces, walls, ditches and old gardens. The site bears witness to both Breton rural architecture and maritime history linked to privateers, notably via the Surcouf family.

The manor is distinguished by its original access: a bridge overlooking a ditch forming an English courtyard, allowing access to common rooms and cellars on one level. The dependencies, spread north and south of the house, illustrate the agricultural organisation of origin. Built on a hillside overlooking a river, it replaces a former medieval mansion of the same name, now extinct.

The current owners, linked to the region's private history, have revived this heritage. Their ancestor, Noël Nicolas Surcouf, served as an officer on board the Revenant during the campaigns of his brother Robert in the Indian Ocean (1807–1809). Another alderman, René Noël Rosse, was also a privateer, strengthening the link between the mansion and Breton maritime history.

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