Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of St. Peter of Châteaubourg came into being in the 15th to 16th centuries, when a first prior church was built, dependent on the abbey of St.Sauveur of Redon. This original building, now extinct, housed a gate dated 1546, the only vestige retained during the later reconstruction. The present building was then a modest place of worship, marked by its status as priory attached to a powerful Breton abbey.

The major reconstruction took place between 1889 and 1902, under the direction of architect Arthur Regnault, who designed an eclectic edifice combining neogothic (exterior and choir) and neobyzantin (inner nave). The project integrated the Renaissance portal of 1546, while innovating with a stoneware stonework structure and brick vaults. The bell tower, evoking a castle tower, and the capitals carved by Francis Cottard (1894) illustrate this desire for stylistic synthesis.

The interior houses remarkable elements such as a reliquary arm of the Rennes goldsmith Pierre Turot (1617), a contemporary organ (1994) and a pulpit to preach from 1896. Ranked a historic monument in 2018, the church embodies both the medieval Breton heritage and the architectural audacity of the late 19th century, while remaining an active place of worship for the local community.

His centered plan, his polygonal arrow surrounded by bell towers and his false machicolis make it a representative example of Arthur Regnault's work. The preservation of ancient elements (portal, reliquary) alongside modern creations (organ, sculptures) underscores its complex heritage dimension, between preservation and reinterpretation.

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