Thursday, July 22, 2004
Chateau Le Guildo
Saint Marie-Madeleine
We had a very pleasant day out with a picnic a trip to Chateau Le Guildo and then a short walk along the GR34 coastal path. Just a short trek from the castle along the GR34 following the red and white stripes on the trees we found a deserted sandy beach for the kids to play on. A nice relaxing day out.
A strategic geographical position
Le Guildo Castle is situated on a rocky outcrop surrounded on the north-east side by the Arguenon river and a swampy valley where a brook flows on the east side. The castle stands about twenty metres above the estuary of the river, where a harbour is mentioned since the 13th century. A ford, situated near the present bridge enables one to cross the river at low tide. The castle, built on an easily defendable site, controlled both the trade on the Arguenon river, navigable at high tide up to Plancoët and a stretch of land, between the estuary of the Rance river and the Penthievre coast.
The origin of the caste is unknown. Le Guildo seigniory appeared very late in the Middle Ages, around 1300. It was bound to the family of Dinan-Montafilant. Today, very little sanding masonry remain from the first fortifications. The general form given to the rock when this castle was built can still be seen in spite of numerous transformations.
An eventful history
At the end of the 14th century, the castle belonged to Charles de Dinan, a powerful Lord allied with the Duke Jean IV who was fighting against the Penthievre. A large proportion of the building seen today dates from this period. You enter by a drawbridge and portcullis flanked by two towers forming a gate house. A large main building including a great hall, kitchen and private apartments is located on the North side of the castle. The other out buildings are placed around the courtyard or ward.
In the middle of the 15th century, Guildo Castle was at it's peak. It belonged to Françoise de Dinan, married to Gilles de Bretagne, brother of François I, the Duke of Brittany.
At the end of the 15th century, it decline began. An open clash broke out between France and Brittany. Le Guildo castle was taken by the royal armies and burnt down in 1488/1489. When Françoise died in 1499, the Dinan family had no more descendants and the castle was left to deteriorate.
Besieged several times during the religious wars at the end of the 16th century, the castle fell completely into ruins. In the beginning of the 17th century, repairs were made but the castle was yet again abandoned in the middle of the 18th century. The ruined builds were used as a quarry and the courtyard used for agriculture until the Conseil Général des Côtes d'Armor acquired the site in 1981.
Chateau Le Guildo
