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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Bouère cemetery, located in the department of Mayenne in Pays de la Loire, is a communal cemetery created in 1778 at the initiative of the parish priest René-Robert Bourdet. It is distinguished by its quadrilateral layout divided into four squares with cut corners, bordered by box hedges and crossed by cross aisles marked with cut-outs. This French-style garden decor, with its centuries-old plants, gives it a geometry and an atmosphere protected by its classification to historical monuments in 2005. A small oratory, built in 1810 at the southwest corner, completes this remarkable ensemble.

Originally, Bouère had two cemeteries: one attached to the church, reserved for children, and the other known as the Madeleine. The present cemetery, blessed around 1780 by the bishop of Le Mans François-Gaspard of Jouffroy de Gonsans, replaced these old burial places. Its symmetrical plan, plant elements and constructions (oratory, commemorative chapel, central cross) reflect a desire for harmony between nature and spirituality, characteristic of the funeral arrangements of the late eighteenth century.

Several personalities were buried there, including René-Robert Bourdet, parish priest of Bouère and deputy to the States General of 1789, as well as Marin-Pierre Gaullier, chief cabbage, and his son Pierre Gaullier. More recently, actor Robert Hirsch was buried there in 2017. These burials testify to the historic and memorial significance of the site, both a place of collection and an architectural heritage.

The cemetery is now protected for its constituent elements: the vegetal quadrilateral, the central cross, the commemorative chapel to the north-west, the oratory of Notre-Dame de Pitié in the south-west (with its wall and portal), as well as the finish road and its fences. These protections highlight the heritage value of a collection of local history, funerary and botanical art.

Located at 3 Rue du Prieuré in Bouère, the cemetery is managed by the municipality, although some parts are privately owned. Its state of conservation and public access make it a visitable site, illustrating the evolution of funeral practices between the 18th and 19th centuries in Mayenne. The accuracy of its location is estimated a priori satisfactory, according to the available data.

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