Chapelle Notre-Dame de Becquerel et sa fontaine

Le Bono

Notre-Dame de Becquerel stands on a hillside between Le Bono and Plougoumelen. It is reached by a forecourt below, enclosed by a semicircular boundary wall; inside, the nave is at ground level, but the chancel rises two to three metres above it, beneath a wooden vault. The transepts open through two pointed arcades, the chevet is flat, and both the main façade and the north wall already show the influence of the Renaissance; the bell tower was rebuilt in 1842. Beneath the gable of the chevet, a small niche shelters a spring that feeds a basin: the 1925 protection order covers together the chapel, its boundary wall and this fountain. Plougoumelen, from which Le Bono later separated, counted Becquerel among its frairie chapels in the 17th century, and in 1853 the continuators of Ogée noted there 'a great pardon every year'. The tradition recorded by abbé Le Mené credits the fountain's water with the power to cure ailments of the mouth, and describes a singular pilgrimage: to get news of relatives far away, people would sweep the inside of the chapel, then go and empty and clean the fountain, a task that took several people an hour. The chapel, which has remained attached to the parish of Plougoumelen, is maintained by an association that keeps up the pardon of 15 August there. Wikipedia dates the fountain to the 14th century, which the historic monuments record does not confirm.

Wikipédia — Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Becquerel ↗

Getting there : At the place called Becquerel, on the road from Le Bono to Plougoumelen; the enclosure and fountain are open access (to be checked). The interior opens during the pardon of 15 August, and for masses and concerts organised by the association that maintains the chapel (to be checked).

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

Ambient sound