Hédé Castle (Château d’Hédé): A Breton Fortified Castle
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Duchy of Brittany
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Hédé Castle is a Breton fortified castle in Hédé-Bazouges, France, whose development as a fortress spans the eleventh to the fifteenth century. A stone tower was built west of the town during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, replacing an earlier castle mound, a raised earthwork used for medieval fortification.
Medieval fortress
The castle enclosure was rebuilt at the end of the fourteenth century by John IV, Duke of Brittany. This work created a nine-sided bailey, the fortified courtyard surrounding the principal tower. The rebuilding formed the main late-medieval defensive phase of the site.
French capture and demolition
French forces took Hédé Castle without resistance in 1488 after defeating Breton forces at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. In 1597, Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur, seized control of the castle during the conflicts involving this powerful Catholic nobleman and military leader in Brittany.
At the request of the local population, Henry IV, king of France from 1589 to 1610, ordered the castle’s demolition in 1598. The surviving structures therefore represent only part of the medieval fortress and its later history.
Protection and communal use
The surviving remains have been registered as historic monuments since 14 October 1926. The commune of Hédé-Bazouges owns the site, which is used as communal land, including sports facilities.
Remains
The remains occupy a rocky promontory west of Hédé. The ground drops steeply toward the west and south, while the position commands an extensive view. The surviving fabric consists of the eastern part of the stone keep and sections of the bailey curtain walls, defensive walls enclosing the castle courtyard.
The stone keep
The keep was square in plan and had buttresses at its corners. About 22 to 23 metres high, it contained a basement, a ground floor, and three upper stories, with walls approximately 4 metres thick. Its entrance was on the first floor and opened toward the courtyard on the west side. The ground floor was used for storage and defence, while the upper levels provided living accommodation. Only the eastern part of this tower survives.
The bailey enclosure
The late-fourteenth-century bailey had nine sides and incorporated moineaux, small defensive structures intended to protect the base of a wall or an adjoining approach. The surviving curtain walls include a fourteenth-century section and an entrance to one of these structures.
Present physical use
The surviving remains are occupied by basketball courts. In summer 2015, one court was converted into a skateboarding track, placing modern communal use within the surviving medieval enclosure.
Nearby sites
