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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Follet Manor House, located in Saint-Pierre-du-Lorouër, Sarthe, has been a historic monument since September 20, 1928. This fief, historically dependent on the Lorouër, was a seigneury attested from the Middle Ages, linked to local noble families such as the Lejeune de Malherbe and the Lefebvre.

In 1489, Michel Le Jeune, squire and lord of Follet, paid tribute for his lands to the castle of Château-du-Loir. This first written testimony marks the anchoring of the mansion in the feudal landscape of Maine. In the 18th century, the estate passed into the hands of the Prudhomme de La Boussinière family, after having been sold in 1752 by Charles-Hercule Lejeune de Malherbe, the last ruined heir of the lineage.

The mansion remained in the Prudhomme family until the 20th century, with figures such as René-Jean-François Prudhomme de La Boussinière, mayor of Saint-Pierre-du-Lorouër at the beginning of the 19th century. After the death of Adolphe Prudhomme in 1885, the estate was passed on to Olivier Prudhomme, then to his granddaughter Germaine, who bequeathed it to the Lunet family of Lajonquière, the current owner.

The manor architecture, protected for its facades and roofs, reflects the successive transformations associated with its owners. Its inscription in 1928 underlines its heritage importance in the department of Sarthe, where it is one of the emblematic historical monuments.

The site is associated with the administrative and social history of the region, with characters such as René François Prudhomme, king's adviser and subdelegated to the intendant of Tours, illustrating the role of local elites under the Old Regime and the Revolution.

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