Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Manor House of La Coutardière, located in Brissarthe (Maine-et-Loire), is a rare example of Angelian architecture from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Ranked partially in 1926 and then registered in 2004, it is distinguished by its square courtyard, its 15th century chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, and its monumental chimneys. Dominating the Sarthe Valley, it illustrates the evolution of styles through its successive houses: an old house of the 15th century, a main body of the 16th-17th centuries, and a chapel adorned with murals now partially erased.

La Coutardière was a major seigneury under Villechien, owned by the eponymous family until the end of the 16th century. In 1577, Marie de la Coutardière brought in dowry to René de Martigné, before being sold in 1607 to René Leclerc, master of the hotel of the Count of Montauban. By successive alliances (Gaudicher family, then Charles de Clandieu), the estate passed to the nuns of the Visitation d'Angers in 1714 for 45,000 pounds, including lands, fiefs and seigneurial rights. Confiscated as a national property in 1791, it became a farm in the 19th century, undergoing transformations before its restoration from 1989.

The chapel, founded in 1531 by Antoine de la Coutardière, housed murals depicting the twelve apostles and Saint Christophe, now barely visible under a bandageon. The estate, which employed about fifteen people at the beginning of the twentieth century, was acquired in 1988 by Daniel Chambourdon, putting an end to its agricultural use. The current owners have begun its restoration, revealing remarkable architectural elements such as carved pediments or old chimneys.

Filed in the Additional Inventory of Historic Monuments in 1926 for its courtyard, chapel and fireplaces, the manor house has been registered in full (except for the southwest building) since 2004. Its history reflects the social changes of Anjou, from local lords to religious congregations, to its agricultural role during the Revolution. The archives mention conflicts around the chapel, whose income fell from 2,000 to 10 pounds between 1725 and 1783, due to neglected taxes and repairs.

The site preserves traces of its seigneurial past, such as the right of land justice exercised by the nuns, or the last censive erected in 1764. His acquisition by Thomas Dobrée (1781–28), a Norwegian shipowner and founder collector of the Dobrée Museum, briefly linked his history to that of Nantes. Today, the manor house combines architectural heritage and local memory, testifying to seven centuries of Angelian history.

External links