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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-des-Carmes in Pont-l-Abbé, founded in 1383 by the Carmelites under the protection of Hervé V of the Bridge, is the former chapel of the fourth Order Convent in Brittany. Its construction, completed around 1411, is in a radiant Gothic style, with a rectangular nave with two unequal vessels and a dissymmetric western facade. The bedside rose (1420–1426), with a diameter of 7.20 meters, and the original stained glass windows – now missing – bore the weapons of the families of the Bridge and Rosmadec, testimonies of their patronage.

The bell tower in slate, erected in 1603 to the south of the choir, is a rare Breton example of tower with superimposed domes, crowned with a lantern. Inside, the full-fine crib panel covers the nave, while three retables (17th century) remain, including a stone dedicated to Saint Anne. The organ, partly from 1666, was rebuilt in 1966–68. The statuary includes a 16th century Pietà and a carved group of St Joseph and the Child Jesus (17th century), reflecting post-medieval artistic richness.

The convent, demolished in 1880, housed a cloister with openworked arcades (prior to 1444), which went back to the seminary of Quimper. The church, classified as Monument Historique in 1914, underwent major restorations: reconstruction of the belfry in 1896, replacement of the lambris in 1846, and suppression of the interior badigeons in the nineteenth century. Since 2016, an oratory honours Vincent L-Hénoret, Lao martyr native of Pont-l-Abbé.

Founded as a place of worship for a parish then dependent on Loctudy, the church illustrates Breton beggar architecture, mixing local influences (bridge-Croix workshop) and ducal protections (John V, Francis II). Lateral chapels, such as that of Sainte-Barbe (early 16th century), highlight ties with noble families, while retables recall the corporations of shoemakers and apothecaries, actresses of local economic life.

The modern stained glass windows, commissioned at the Carmel du Mans in the 19th century, replaced the medieval glass windows, whose star window bore the effigies of Hervé VI du Pont (died 1426) and his wife Marie de Rosmadec. The jube, now extinct, once separated the monastic space from the parish nave, symbolizing the double vocation of the building.

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