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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Castel Castle, located in Saint-Servant in Morbihan, occupies an ancient site of occupation marked by the remains of a castral mot of the High Middle Ages. Although the texts attest to a first castle from 1390, belonging to the Castel family, the present building dates mainly from the 18th century. Its house body, built in two phases (1759-1761 and 1783), is flanked by 17th century outbuildings, including stables, a barn and a dovecote on a rotating scale. The chapel, dedicated to Saint Francis, was erected in 1771.

In the 19th century, the estate was renovated with the creation of an English-language park, a vegetable garden (circa 1800), and the construction of a mill (1809) and a farmhouse (1860). A restoration campaign also took place during this century. The castle, still owned by the Castel family, was partially inscribed in historical monuments in 1997, including the house, the communes, the chapel, the dovecote and the garden with its fence wall.

The architecture of the castle is characterized by a rectangular central house body, framed by two wings of commons forming a lower courtyard. In the west, the chapel and the farmhouse complete the whole, while in the north, the landscaped park and the remains of the castral mot are reminiscent of the old fortification. The estate also includes a farm, a mill in ruins and a cooler, reflecting its evolution throughout the centuries.

The site, isolated in a vast partially wooded estate, illustrates the adaptation of a medieval seigneury in a modern aristocratic residence. The interior woodwork, the original wooden staircases and the dovecote system have been preserved, offering a remarkable example of Breton heritage from the 17th to 18th centuries. Castel's family, allied with La Bourdonnaye in 1780, has maintained a continuous presence there since the fourteenth century.

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