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Origin and history

The Manor House of Saint-Armel, located in Bruz in Ille-et-Vilaine, is a former episcopal mansion dating back to the 11th century. Given in 1076 by Geoffroy Grenodat, Count of Rennes, to Bishop Sylvestre de La Guerche, he served as a summer residence for the bishops of Rennes. Reconstructed in the 15th century by Bishop Anselme de Chantemerle, and then modernized in the 17th century, it preserves remains of its medieval chapel.

In the Middle Ages, the mansion was called Hotel Saint-Armel and housed one of the five general plaids of the bishopric. He welcomed major figures such as Yves Mahyeuc (confessor of Anne of Brittany and bishop of Rennes), as well as Dukes John IV and John V, and even Henry IV. The Revolution led to its sale as a national good in 1791, after requests for destruction for old age.

The manor, surrounded by moat and equipped with a drawbridge (disappeared), consisted of three bodies of buildings, a chapel destroyed in 1791, and an inner courtyard with well. In the 19th century, the gate was redesigned, and the moat partially filled after the diversion of the Seiche for the Pont-Péan mines. Saving from the 1944 bombings, he was listed as a historical monument in 1975.

Architecturally, the mansion combines elements from the 15th to 17th centuries: ionic pilaster facades, triangular frontons, and high roofs with stacks. The Pavilion, to the south, and the Cerf Chamber (over the stable) bear witness to its seigneurial past. Today a private property, it remains a symbol of the Breton heritage and the Episcopal History of Rennes.

Among its notable occupants, Charles Bonaventure Toullier, a jurisconsult, acquired it in 1791, followed by the Péan family in the 19th century. Dr. Patay, who was the owner of the Second World War, hosted victims after the bombing. The site, close to the Seiche, also preserves traces of a medieval bridge with four arches, partially preserved.

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