Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Gonéry, located in Plougrescant in the Côtes-d'Armor, finds its origins in the 11th century with the construction of an oratory, perhaps equipped with a defensive function. This primitive building, probably of the 12th century, was profoundly redesigned over the centuries. In the 15th century, the rise of the pilgrimage led to the extension of the chapel to the west, with the addition of a nave and a choir covered with painted panelling. The old chapel then became a bell tower, and a stair turret was joined to access the storey serving as archives and relics.

In the 15th century, the walls were decorated with paintings depicting biblical scenes, while in 1599 the tomb of Guillaume du Halgouët, bishop of Tréguier from Plougrescant, was erected near the choir. The bishop undertook to repair a pinion threatened with ruin. In 1612, a lead arrow, now bent, was added to the roof of the tower, and in 1614 a new tomb was raised in the same tower, facing a Merovingian sarcophagus.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the chapel was surrounded by a placister, including an enclosure, a triumphal door, a sacred fountain and an outer pulpit. The northwest entrance was built in 1780. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1911, the chapel is distinguished by its architecture combining Romanesque and Gothic styles, with a unique nave and a flat-side choir. Its massive bell tower-porch, with sloped walls and inclined arrow, is a remarkable testimony of its turbulent history.

Inside, the painted panels of the nave, dating from the late 15th or early 16th century, illustrate scenes from the Old and New Testament. The chapel also houses carved sandstones, a 15th or 16th century stained glass window depicting the Virgin and Saint John, as well as several classified objects, including the tomb of Guillaume du Halgouët and a statue of the Virgin. The adjacent cemetery, classified in 1942, completes this exceptional heritage complex.

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