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Origin and history

Kernault Manor House, located in Mellac, Finistère, has its origins in the early 15th century. Built around 1420-1430 by the Talhouët family, it was initially linked to Jean de Talhouët, clerk of silverware in the Chamber of Accounts and then responsible for the hotel of the Duchess of Brittany. The medieval house, modified in 1627 (floors, fireplaces) and renovated around 1750, retains a decor combining medieval and classical styles. A prehistoric stele, classified in 1991, attests to a much older occupation of the site.

The estate was the successor property of the Breton noble families: Lescoët (XV-XVIth centuries), anoblis in 1464 by Duke Francis II, the Beuffs (XVIth century), which built a wood-paned attic there, then the Veer, Coëtnours, and the Vergier de Kerhorlay until the 20th century. Yvon de Lescoët, the first known lord, developed the site in 1471 with houses, parks and meadows. In the 17th century, the seigneury of Kernault, partially fief royal, dominated 25 villages of Mellac, with rights over the parish church.

During the Revolution, Jean-Marie du Vergier hid in it refractory priests. In the 19th century, the Kerhorlay Vergier created an experimental farm, and in the 20th century the estate became a horse farm under the Poulpiquet de Brescanvel. Acquired by the Finistère department in 1990 after the death of its last owner, it was classified as a historical monument in 1991. Since 2006, he has joined the EPCI "Chemins du patrimoine en Finistère" alongside four other major sites.

The manor house, which has been being restored since 2020, housed a research centre on Breton oral literature before the fire of January 2025. Its architecture combines a two-storey seigneurial house (scenes, 15th century monumental fireplace), a chapel with historic stained glass windows, and wood-paned communes housing exhibitions today. The estate, spread over several hectares, includes wood, equestrian enclosures, pool and orchard, reflecting its dual noble and agricultural heritage.

The protected elements include the prehistoric stele, facades and roofs, the large house hall, the east garden, and the fence walls. The stained glass windows of the chapel, from the former church of Mellac (destroyed in 1876), bear the coats of arms of the local lords (Lescouët, Quimerc'h, Oboe). The site, a departmental property, now hosts exhibitions in its communes and participates in the development of the Finistrian heritage, with 173,555 visitors registered in 2009 for the five associated domains.

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