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Origin and history

Kerandraou Manor House, also known as the Villebass Manor House, is a noble house located in Troguery, Côtes-d'Armor (Bretagne). Dating from the late 14th century (circa 1375–1400 according to a dendrochronological analysis), it illustrates Breton rural seigneurial architecture. Its quadrangular plane, with a cylindrical tower housing a screw staircase, and its covered passage through the ground floor, make it a rare example of house-porch. The mansion was designed to welcome prestigious guests, such as the Dukes of Brittany on pilgrimage to Tréguier, a nearby town linked to the cult of Saint Yves.

The ground floor includes a kitchen and a room separated by the passage, while on the upper floor the seigneurial apartment includes an upper room, a wardrobe with latrines, and a domestic chapel directly accessible from the bedroom. This chapel, equipped with a trilobed niche and a sacrary, bears witness to the religious status of the place. Defensive elements remain, such as the remains of a hound (woodwork) at the top of the tower and a steep edge above the gate, recalling its role both residential and protective.

The mansion belonged to the Cornulier family in the 18th century, but its origins date back to Henri-Philippes de Coëtgoureden, advisor to Duke John IV of Brittany, who built it around 1390. The latter completed a pre-existing manorial ensemble, cited in 1330 in the investigation of the canonization of Saint Yves, and linked to Typhaine of Pestivien, ancestor of Henri-Philippes. The missing coat of arms above the gate evoked the alliances of Coëtgoureden and Coëtfrec, the local noble families.

The dovecote, located south of the house, houses 500 bolts (niche), symbolizing the 500 hectares of the seigneury. Ranked Historic Monument in 2003 with the mansion, it probably dates before the 16th century. The partially preserved south and west wings reveal medieval rooms with ogival chimneys and wall cupboards, while the north wing once housed stables. The ensemble, built in shale and granite, combines defensive and residential influences, typical of the Trégor.

Located near the Jaudy, a maritime river, the mansion was a relay on the pilgrimage route to Tréguery, where Saint Yves (1253–1303), patron of the lawyers and the Bretons, had his neighboring seigneury (manor of Kermartin). The devotion of the Dukes of Brittany to this saint, as well as the strategic position of the site, explain its hospitable and fortified architecture. Today, the manor house and its dovecote are protected for their exceptional heritage value.

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