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Origin and history

Keroch'iou Manor House, also known as Keroc'hiou or Ker-Oriou, is a 3rd quarter of the 16th century building located 3.4 km north of Morlaix in Finistère. Its Breton name means "rock manor". It is distinguished in two parts: the "old Kerochiou", being restored, and "Kéroch'iou the young", built much later. The site faces Notre-Dame de la Salette and retains ruins of ancient buildings in its northern courtyard.

The current mansion, dated 1563, was built in schist bellows with granite frames. It features a rectangular plan, a square tower at the northwest corner, and a gate in the middle of a hanger adorned with three armored shields. From the 15th century the land belonged to the family of Porzpozen, then passed by successive alliances to the Toulgoat, Kerambon, and Kergariou. In 1509, Annette Porzpozen married a descendant of Jean Toulgoat, marking the beginning of a line of noble owners.

A local legend tells that a lord of Kergorc'hiou, scorning a villager named Quirio Lagadec, imposed an impossible test: bringing back three hairs of Satan's beard to marry his daughter. Quirio succeeded, but the hair burned the lord mortally, who accepted the marriage before he died. In the 19th century, the mansion was rebuilt in 1898 after being sold by Paul de Champagny to Baron Alphonse Cazin d'Honninctun and then sold in 1924 for financial reasons.

The coat of arms of the first owners, visible on the porches, testify to its aristocratic history. The mansion was partially classified as a Historical Monument on November 29, 1979 (facades, roofs, gate). Today, it embodies a Breton architectural heritage combining Renaissance and popular narratives, between schist, granite, and memory of the noble families of Finistère.

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