Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Saint John-des-Prés, founded around 1159 by Eon II, Viscount of Porhoët, was initially a community of regular canons according to the rule of St Augustine. Located in Guillac (Morbihan), it was successively dependent on the dioceses of Saint-Malo and then Vannes. As early as 1507, it fell as a beginning, a system in which the abbot, often absent, was appointed by the king or pope to collect income, weakening monastic life. Despite attempts at reform, the abbey never managed to free itself from this regime.

In 1663, the abbey joined the Congregation of Sainte-Geneviève (or Genovefains), a reform aimed at restoring monastic discipline. This union marked the beginning of a major reconstruction of the buildings, carried out between 1663 and 1682 under the administration of C. Gail, as evidenced by a Latin inscription on a sandstone. The work included the transfer of the cloister from north to south, but other projects (such as the demolition-reconstruction planned for 1733 and 1778) were never carried out. Only one-off amenities took place, such as the kitchen garden (1770) or repairs in 1789, interrupted by the Revolution.

The French Revolution rang the abbey: sold as national property in 1791 to a certain Mailhos, it lost its church and unfinished abbey house, demolished around 1800. In the 19th century, the site was transformed: a distillery was installed between 1815 and 1828, and interior developments and agricultural buildings were added. Today, the abbey belongs to the family of Rohan-Chabot, and the Duke of Rohan-Josselin resides there. The classified elements (facades, roofs, gate, stairs) date mainly from the seventeenth century, while the interiors (outside stairs) have been listed since 1998.

The history of the Abbey reflects the religious and political upheavals of Brittany: medieval foundation under the influence of the Viscounts of Porhoët, decline under the commende, baroque renaissance with the Genovéfains, and then revolutionary destruction. The current remains, combining classical architecture and post-revolutionary redevelopments, make it a rare testimony to the evolution of Breton abbeys over nearly 900 years.

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