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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The château de la Gletière, located in the commune of Pacé en Ille-et-Vilaine, is a building built in the 3rd quarter of the 17th century, more precisely in 1655, as indicated by the date worn on the building. It replaces a manor house mentioned in 1419, showing an old occupation of the site. The current Louis XIII-style castle consists of a central body flanked by two pavilions slightly protruding, with an architecture marked by elements typical of the era: limestone frames, ground strips, and slate roofs decorated with lily flowers and dotted spikes.

The estate also includes communes organized in a long building housing stables, as well as a circular dovecote and a dovecote on the ground, both of which are covered with lanterns. The east facade, overlooking the gardens, presents two wooden turrets at the corners of the pavilions, surmounted by imperial roofs and pyramidal campaniles. These elements, as well as the bas-reliefs of coats of arms on the main facades, evoke successive proprietary families. The castle, partially modified over the centuries, nevertheless retains a structure close to its original state, with facilities limited to outbuildings and the park.

Ranked a Historic Monument since October 17, 1969, the Glessière Castle illustrates the 17th century Breton residential architecture. Its inscription concerns both the main house and its two leaks (pigeons), stressing the heritage importance of the whole. Although the interiors and surrounding areas have undergone transformations (such as the destruction of the Notre-Dame chapel built around 1586), the house body and its exterior decorations—harped pedestals, bent-pediment windows—remain representative of the style of the era.

The site, accessible by the departmental road D 288, is located south of the village of Pacé, near Vezin-le-Coquet. Its park, redesigned by the addition of contemporary houses, preserves traces of ancient furnishings, such as a partially preserved press to the south. The materials used — granite for doors, limestone for window frames — and the symmetry of facades reflect 17th century aesthetic cannons, while integrating residual defensive elements, such as angle turrets.

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