The Parish Enclosure of St Thegonnec in Brittany

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The Church of Notre-Dame in St Thégonnec, 14C-18C, is one of the ‘great’ parish enclosures, a huge and impressive complex which is perhaps not to everyone’s taste because of its size and opulence. Nevertheless, it has all the necessary components of a Parish Enclosure – walls, Triumphal Arch, Ossuary, Calvary, South Porch, and of course, the Church.

St Thegonnec originally came from Wales to Brittany where he tamed a deer to pull his cart carrying stones to build his church. One day a wolf killed the deer; the saint tamed the wolf who then pulled his cart.

St Thegonnec
St Thegonnec, north side
The Church of Notre Dame in St Thegonnec
The Church of Notre Dame in St Thegonnec, south side
St Thegonnec and his wolf
St Thegonnec and his wolf

The Triumphal Arch dates from 1587 and is built of local granite by craftsmen from the workshops of the Chateau of Kerjean.

The Triumphal Arch & Bell Tower of The Church of Notre Dame in St Thegonnec

The Church has two spires: the lower tower is from the original church of 1563, while the second, taller tower is early 17C.

The two Bell Towers of St Thegonnec
The two Bell Towers of St Thegonnec

The complex of buildings is covered in carvings – they are everywhere, and remember these are made of granite! On the outside of the South Porch is a beautiful carving of St John (1625), leaning forward, head bent by Roland Doré. It is in strong contrast with the more standard, stiff figure on the right.

St John (1625) by Roland Dore (L)

The Ossuary (1676-82) is a grand, elegant building. Over the door St Pol stands over the dragon he conquered on the Ile de Batz. Apparently this building was never used to store bones, but was always a Chapel(There is an ‘Entombment’ in the crypt of the Ossuary which is similar to that in Lampaul-Guimiliau, but apart from the head of Mary Magdalene I think it compares poorly.)

The Ossuary and the Calvary at St Thegonnec
The Ossuary and the Calvary at St Thegonnec
St Pol standing over his dragon, flanked by two caryatids
St Pol standing over his dragon, flanked by two caryatids

There are two Calvaries at St Thegonnec: one on the north side of the church, built into the enclosing wall, in 1864 and made by Yan Larhantec; and the main Calvary of 1610 on the south side which was mostly created by the ‘Master of St Thegonnec’ with a single group by Roland Doré.

The main calvary at St Thegonnec
Main Calvary, St Thegonnec
Main Calvary, St Thegonnec
Main Calvary, St Thegonnec
Main Calvary, St Thegonnec
Main Calvary, St Thegonnec

Main Calvary, St Thegonnec

Some of the scenes are brutal…

Main Calvary, St Thegonnec

You can spend hours exploring the complex exterior of the complex, and feel quite overwhelmed by richness and variety, but it will not prepare you for the opulence of the interior.

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