“A Pavilion which, in spite of its dilapidated state, stands proud in the shade of an age-old pine, is the last remnant of the Manoir de Maugremien”.
But the Pavilion has been completely renovated and is now our home and the old farmhouse – le longère built in 1853 - has been converted into our luxurious cottages, salle des fêtes and chambres d’hôtes, for which Gîtes de France have awarded us 3 Epis.
The granite walls and steps that you will find in the gardens have been built by us from the blocks and stones that came from the original mansion and which we have discovered in the soil as we have created the flower beds. Many of the stones have been scorched by fire.
These words were written by a nineteenth century antiquarian, describing the "Seigneurie de Maugremien" – the ancient title of le Manoir de Mongrenier. Our historian would certainly not recognise Mongrenier now! True, the original mansion behind the Pavilion no longer exists, nor does the Manoir own the vast lands, villages and mills that it did in the Middle Ages – these were stripped from the property during the Revolution – and, sadly, nor would he see the old pine: we had to take it down as it had been struck by lightening.
| ???? | Eudon de Porhoet | |
| 1248 | de Montauban | |
| 1360 | de la Vauguyon | |
| 1400 | de la Houssaye | |
| 1495 | Langourla | |
| 1520 | de Carcado | |
| 1637 | Jouan | |
| 1654 | Moro | |
| 1679 | Visdelou | |
| 1805 | du Halgouet | |
| 1996 | Sealy |
There is no doubt that Mongrenier played an increasingly important and prestigious role in this region of Brittany from the early 14th century until the Revolution. Mongrenier was the local “seat” of justice and was entitled to receive “homage” from all the villages and other settlements in the area. In turn, the Seigneur of Maugremien owed “fealty” to the Duc de Rohan in his magnificent chateau in nearby Josselin. The Manoir owned all the local water and wind mills, as well as all the land hereabouts. During this period, a large mansion was constructed and attached to the original pavilion which is now our house. We believe that this magnificent building was destroyed in the Revolution: the longère was built in 1853 from the granite of the ruins of the old house.
In 1654, Maugremien was inherited by Jacques Moro, Sire de la Ville au Voyer. Le Manoir de Mongrenier bears his Coat of Arms to this day. In 1679, Mongrenier was sold by Jacques' son, Yves-Jean, to Dame Helen Visdelou for the prince’s ransom of 19,500 pounds and the family from whom we bought Mongrenier in July 1996 are directly descended from Dame Helen. We are only the eleventh family to own Mongrenier since 1248!
For the last 100 years, Mongrenier has only rarely been lived in, with the exception of the period between 1920 and 1960. During these years, a local farming family rented the property and converted the grande salle in the Manoir into an apartment consisting of three bedrooms, a toilet and a kitchen. Our first job was to rip this out and in doing so, we revealed the extent of the magnificent granite fireplace and the original oak ceiling and beams of the Manoir.
We started work on Mongrenier in April 1997 and spent the first year in restoring the ancient granite walls, removing plaster from the old stone blocks, cleaning all the woodwork and starting to put the gardens into some semblance of organisation. When our reconstruction plans were finally accepted, the renovation started in earnest in September 1998. In July 1999, we were able to move into the Manoir, to start work on the internal decor. The rebuilding and refurbishing of the chambres d’hôtes and the cottages was completed by Spring 2000.
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