St Thegonnec Church

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There was one more church to visit – Notre Dame at St ThégonnecMaybe I was just tired – my first day out after nearly three days in bed – but somehow this church did not catch my imagination. It was very grand – almost like a cathedral – perhaps I had been spoiled by the intimacy of Lampaul-Guimiliau and Guimiliau

St Thegonnec
St Thegonnec
St Thegonnec - the Triumphal Arch and the Ossuary
St Thegonnec – the Triumphal Arch and the Ossuary

The Ossuary was very impressive – the wealth created by the linen trade must have been huge, and of course the demand was huge – sails and ropes, as well as clothing. In the 1500s-1800s linen growing and production was a major industry in Brittany which traded with Britain, Belgium, Holland, and the Americas. Civic pride seemed to manifest itself in churches, much as the wool trade did in East Anglia. Louis XIV effectively destroyed the trade with the evocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685.

Linen Trade in Brittany (http://linchanvrebretagne.org/patrimoineethistoire.html)
Linen Trade in Brittany (http://linchanvrebretagne.org/patrimoineethistoire.html)
St Thegonnec - the Ossuary
St Thegonnec – the Ossuary

Inside the church there is much golden Baroque splendour.

St Thegonnec - the High Altar
St Thegonnec – the High Altar
St Thegonnec - the organ loft
St Thegonnec – the organ loft
St Thegonnec - the 17C Rosary Altar piece on the left of the High Altar
St Thegonnec – the 17C Rosary Altar piece on the left of the High Altar
The astonishing pulpit at St Thegonnec
The astonishing pulpit at St Thegonnec

There were quieter corners.

St John the Baptist in St Thegonnec
St John the Baptist in St Thegonnec
St Thegonnec Church
St Thegonnec Church

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Churches and their history
The linen trade in Brittany

 

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