,’Malouinières’ are country residences built in the 18^th century by local ship-owners and merchants, who would typically spend the summer months there to escape the hustle and bustle of the congested walled town. I’m off to visit the Malouinière de la Ville-Bague at Saint-Coulomb, one of the ten largest of these country mansions.

A tour of a ‘Malouinière’

Today I’m meeting Monsieur Lopez at La Malouinière de la Ville-Bague in Saint-Coulomb for a guided tour. This beautiful property, one of the 112 Malouinières in the area around Saint-Malo, was built by Guillaume Eon de la Ville-Bague in 1715.

The main architectural features of Malouinières are their perfect symmetry, tall chimneys at the gable ends, distinctive roof finials and a band of granite defining the first floor.

The ship-owners used to leave the walled town from April to October with their families and staff to avoid the smells which pervaded Saint-Malo during the summer. However, they did not want to be more than a 2-hour horse ride from the harbour, so they could quickly be on hand to settle their affairs when a ship came in from the Indies, China or elsewhere.

My video on La Malouinière de la Ville-Bague :

Malouiniere de la Ville Bague a Saint-Coulomb en Ille-et-Vilaine (Bretagne) from Hautebretagne on Vimeo.

An unusual story about … wallpaper

Monsieur Lopez takes me into a salon decorated with panoramic wallpaper, portraying the arrival of the Spanish in the land of the Incas, which is listed as a Historic Monument. This beautiful work of art made by the Parisian company Dufour & Leroy, was put up in 1810, but it disappeared in 1972 when it was cut out and sold to an antiques dealer by the owners at the time.

After a long search, the current owners of the Malouinière finally tracked it down at the Art Market in Aix-en-Provence and brought it back to its rightful home !

Prepare to board !

Next Monsieur Lopez takes me into the dovecote which houses the corsair’s weapon collection.

Cutlasses were also known as « ladles » , as they were adapted from the bowl part of the large spoons used for stirring food in the cooking pots which hung over the fire. The (French) expression : « J’ai expédié le bateau en trois coups de cuillère à pot » originates from this practice (the English equivalent is to do something in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, i.e. very quickly). Monsieur Lopez also told me that the ladle represented the tot of rum the men were allowed to drink to give them courage before attacking a vessel.

However, corsairs’ weapons were not confined to cutlasses :
- The dagger had a slightly curved, triangular blade making it a fearsome weapon !
- The axe was the corsair’s ‘ice-pick’: it was driven into the side of the ship, grappling hooks were thrown onto the deck, then the men climbed aboard with the aid of ropes.
- Chain shot was used to slow down the enemy ship. When it was fired, it opened out and tore the sails and masts. The hull of the vessel had to remain intact so that it could be re-sold !

Finally, Monsieur Lopez shows me a First Empire percussion pistol, from the time of Surcouf. He explains that this type of firearm took a long time to load. I pointed out that the operation took a lot less time in the « Pirates of the Caribbean » films !

The secret of the rood-screen !

Next we visit the 17^th century Chapelle Sainte-Sophie where mass used to be said for the ship-owner, his family and staff. Monsieur Lopez operates a mechanism just in front of the rood-screen which opens a secret passage which was built for the priest to use during the French Revolution.

What a treasure house ! A big thank you to Monsieur Lopez for sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge of corsairs, ship-owners and their beautiful Malouinière homes with us !

My next blog posting is something more rural : a visit to Merlin’s Tomb in the Brocéliande Forest in the company of Mathieu, hoping that the little gift we left at Merlin’s Tomb will have the desired effect… !

See you !
Philippe