Ermitage de saint Hervé, Coat-an-Hermit

Lanrivoaré

Deep in a wood known as Coat an Hermit, the hermit's wood, three remains are presented as the hermitage of Saint Hervé. The chapel is now no more than a plan of low walls: the authors who described it in 1976 distinguish there an older part facing east, with its stone altar, which they attribute to the 10th century, a living room which they date to the 12th, and a sacristy from around the 15th; rescue excavations of the 1970s yielded pottery fragments from the late Middle Ages to the 17th century. A few steps away, the spring is caught in a small H-shaped shrine bearing an altar, probably of the 17th century. Further down, beneath a mound, a dry-stone barrel-vaulted hut, 3.50 m long and 2.50 m wide, its floor dug below ground level, retains two niches and a pierced hearthstone. Tradition sees this as the saint's cell. Hervé, blind from birth and guided by a tame wolf, is one of the most popular saints in Brittany, and local legend has him settling here after a harvest miracle. Historians remain cautious: the heritage department of the Pays d'Iroise itself cautions against taking the authenticity for granted, and specialists in dry-stone architecture, in a 1994 study, see in the cell a simple semi-buried agricultural cellar, much more recent.

Wikipédia — Lanrivoaré ↗

Getting there : From Lanrivoaré, take the D168 towards Ploudalmézeau, then, 500 m after leaving the village, turn right towards Tréouergat; at the fork, continue left, and 700 m further on turn right again (to be checked). Park 500 m further on, beside the road, near a wide signposted track, then walk 400 m to the calvary; the site is in the wood, on the right (to be checked). The tourist office lists it under the address of Tréouergat.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound