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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The seigneurial house of the Grande Coudrière, located in Mézangers, Mayenne, is a building dating from the 2nd half of the 14th century, exceptionally well preserved. This monument is distinguished by its original medieval architecture, combining a main house surrounded by moat and defensive elements. Originally, it served as a hunting relay for local lords, with a ground floor dedicated to utility spaces (caves, cellars) and a floor fitted out into a vast living room, dominated by a monumental fireplace. Its architectural prestige is reflected in the sled windows, the wooden bulkheads and the exterior chimney pipes.

The land of the Grande Coudrière was moving from the seigneuries of Chelé and Bourgon, making it a strategic fief in the region. Over the centuries, the house has changed its function: transformed into a farm at the end of the nineteenth century, it has retained its original structure, including its exterior stone staircase (formerly covered with an awning) and its ogival door with double ranks of harpsichords. The attices, which were walled and had chimneys, probably date back to the late 16th century, when the house was modernized. The site has been protected since 1997, with an inscription covering the house, its appendices, moats and their attitude.

The archives mention several lord owners between the 15th and 18th centuries. Among them, the Sieur des Écotais (1468, 1516), Georges de Corbon (1559), or Pierre de Courtarvel (1586), husband of Antoinette de Corbon. Bourjolly's Maucourt family particularly marked the history of the place, with Charles Maucourt, author of a Chronological Memory on Laval, or Madeleine Maucourt, wife of Lancelot de Crissé (1752). The seigneury was sold as a national property in 1797 (22 years V) before being bought by Thérèse Dubois, the Rocher's lady. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Coudrière belonged to M. Serclot des Coudrières, d'Evron.

The house illustrates the evolution of seigneurial houses in Mayenne, moving from residential and cynegetic use to farming. Its state of conservation makes it a rare testimony of medieval civil architecture in the Pays de la Loire, supplemented by Renaissance developments. Historical sources, such as the Mémoires de Bourjolly or the Chartriers de Bourgon et du Rocher, confirm its local importance. Today, the site remains a remarkable example of protected monumental heritage, open to study and tourism development.

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