Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The house at 22 Colvestre Street in Tréguier, dating from the 16th century, is a rare example of a Breton urban hotel mixing grey granite stone and flamboyant Gothic elements. Its facade is distinguished by broken arch arches, speckled bays, and splint windows. Originally, a corbelled wood-paned floor overlooking the street, later replaced by a stone masonry. The interior reveals a tripartite plan, with a stairwell in 3.15 metres in diameter, serving spaces organized around a central axis: pantry, guardroom, dressery, and a private chapel on the second floor.

The private chapel, the most notable element, is equipped with a niche credence and two hagioscopes, unique devices in Brittany for an urban house. These openings were used to track offices from adjacent exhibits. The built-in fireplace and the first floor vegetable garden, as well as the remains of an Armo-American structure with a height of ground at the top, testify to the architectural ingenuity of the era. The house, initially surmounted by a tower with dovecote, offered a panoramic view of the cathedral and the mouth of the river Tréguier.

As early as 1612 it was mentioned as "the great noble house of Kericuf", and it belonged to Henry of Kergrec, the influential and provost lord of Tréguier in 1593. In 1651 his description included a chapel, an aviary, and a stone staircase serving rooms and attices. In the 18th century, it passed into the hands of François Garjan, knight and lord of Kerverzault. Its inscription in the Historic Monuments in 1926 underlines its heritage importance, linked to its noble history and its architectural peculiarities, as the potential workshop of a goldsmith protected by a juda.

The archives suggest that the second-storey woodpan was destroyed during the League's wars (1588-1598), then replaced by a masonry in the late 16th or early 17th century. The house, associated with the Robin family (artists mentioned in the cathedral records), also illustrates the links between local nobility, crafts, and urban life in Tréguier. Its spatial organization, with divided spaces for service, reception, and worship, reflects the social hierarchies of the era.

In 1835, the property belonged to Firmin Cadiau, then to Émile Le Taillandier, mayor of Lannion, in 1877. The later name of "the Duke's house Jean V" is not attested before the modern era. Today, its inscription protects an emblematic facade and roof, while its history, combining Gothic architecture, private chapels, and noble life, makes it an exceptional testimony of Breton heritage.

External links