Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Tromeur mansion, located in Serent in Morbihan, has its origins in the 15th century as the capital of the lords of Serent, a family of influential barons since the 14th century. Originally, the manorial complex was organized around a square tower closed with walls, including a small mansion with a direct access stair tower, a house-door, commons, a dovecote and a well. This arrangement reflected a defensive and residential organization typical of the Breton manors of the period, with an original access to the room by the stair tower, contrary to local usage.

In the 18th century, the mansion was acquired by the Collobel family, members of Parliament from Rennes, who undertook important work. The house is enlarged to the south and north, the facades are modernized according to the tastes of the era, and the interiors are equipped with panelling. These transformations, although simple, mark an evolution towards a more marked residential comfort, while the park is redeveloped with a main entrance moved to the garden side. A notable vestige of this period is the hexagonal turret housing a staircase, the only remaining trace of the original building after the reshuffles.

In the 19th century, the interior distribution was profoundly altered by the addition of a staircase serving the north, dividing the manor into two distinct spaces. Rooms without special character are then arranged south side. The mill at the mansion, now transformed, as well as the chapel of Sainte-Suzanne in Treviet, once depended on the seigneury. The manor house, partially protected since 2000 (façades, roofs, dovecote, well and cobbled courtyard), thus bears witness to five centuries of history, from medieval lords to parliamentary families.

The successive owners of the mansion illustrate its strategic and social importance. Among them, the family of Sérent, of which Jean de Sérent was buried in the parish church under a white marble gissor, or the Delhoaye families (1427), Avaugour (XVI century), and Collobel (from 1664). These hand changes, often linked to alliances or sales, reflect the political and economic dynamics of Brittany, from feudalism to revolution. The reformation of 1427 already mentions the mansion as a seigneurial accommodation, highlighting its ancient anchoring in the local landscape.

Architecturally, the Tromeur mansion is distinguished by defensive elements such as the guard benches inserted in the house-door, or the crows of the stair tower evoking missing mâchicoulis. A high walled door, visible in the setting, suggests the past existence of a wooden courier, similar to that of the manor house of the Vaugace. These details, combined with subsequent transformations, offer a representative example of the evolution of Breton manors, between initial military function and adaptation to the lifestyles of classical and modern times.

External links