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Origin and history

The Château de la Roche-Montbourcher, located in Cuguen in Ille-et-Vilaine, is a fortified vestige of the 14th and 15th centuries. It consists of two distinct parts: a ground mound supporting two stone towers to the west, and a quadrangular enclosure forming a bassyard to the east. This site illustrates the architecture of the castles of the Lower Middle Ages, with a spur artificially barred by ditches to the north, overlooking a narrow valley. The quadrangular dungeon, the best preserved element, measures 10.70 metres in length and probably rises on five levels, with murderers, corbelled latrines and dust windows.

The castle was initially protected by a drawbridge and dry moat, separating the upper courtyard from the lower courtyard. The seigneurial house, now extinct, occupied the upper floors of the dungeon, heated by chimneys and illuminated by small windows. The wooden stairs provided communication between the levels, and the entrance door, located on the first floor, was accessible by a drawbridge, an archaic arrangement reminiscent of Romanesque constructions. According to the analyses, the modeling of bays and chimneys corresponds to the uses of the second half of the 14th century.

The château was awarded to Jean de Montbourcher, Sénéchal du Limousin for Charles de Blois, who owned it between 1330 and 1370. Later, Bertrand II de Montbourcher, chamberlain of the Duke John V of Brittany, would have restored the castle, then in ruins in 1429. The fortress, of second rank, was part of the line of defence of the eastern steps of Brittany, between Dol and Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. During the League wars, in 1590, the castle, held by the Leaguers, was besieged, looted and dismantled by an ordinance of 1595, before being abandoned. The ruins, now covered by a forest, have been included in the additional inventory of historic monuments since 8 August 1995.

The site, although little known, has a major architectural and historical interest. It bears witness to medieval fortification techniques and to the conflicts that marked Brittany at the end of the Middle Ages. Remnants include tower bases, landrises and moats, protected by ministerial decree. Development would be necessary to preserve and promote this heritage.

The location of the castle, on a rocky eminence, offers a strategic point of view on the valley of Haut Montay. The land, now wooded, preserves the traces of the ditches and ramparts, allowing to partially reconstruct the defensive organization of the site. The original access, coming from the west, bypassed the whole north, crossing the ditches of the lower courtyard before reaching the drawbridge leading to the high courtyard.

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