Breteil

Breteil
Brezhiel

Coat of arms

Breteil

Location within Brittany region

Breteil

Coordinates: 48°08′46″N 1°53′50″W / 48.1461°N 1.8972°WCoordinates: 48°08′46″N 1°53′50″W / 48.1461°N 1.8972°W

Country

Montfort-sur-Meu

Pays de Montfort

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

Joseph Le Lez

Area¹

14.7 km² (5.7 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

3,367

• Density

230/km² (590/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

35040 / 35160

Elevation

26–71 m (85–233 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Breteil (Breton: Brezhiel) is a commune in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany. It is located in the North West of France.

Geography

The Meu river forms the commune's southwestern border. Breteil is part of the county of Montfort-sur-Meu and comes under the control of Rennes. The town has 3.502 inhabitants and stretches over 1.470 hectares. It is surrounded by Montfort-sur-Meu, Bédée, La Nouaye, Iffendic, Pleumeleuc, Talensac, Saint-Gonlay.

Population^[1]

Inhabitants of Breteil are known as Breteillais in French.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1806	1,237	—
1826	1,296	+4.8%
1846	1,180	−9.0%
186	1,257	+6.5%
1886	1,358	+8.0%
1906	1,236	−9.0%
1926	1,073	−13.2%
1946	1,030	−4.0%
1962	815	−20.9%
1968	833	+2.2%
1975	1,685	+102.3%
1982	2,436	+44.6%
1990	2,788	+14.4%
1999	2,974	+6.7%
2008	3,367	+13.2%

History

The parish of Breteil results from the division of the former parish of Pleumeleuc, in 1122. It is this year that the bishop of Aleth consecrated the church of Breteil to Benedictin monks of Saint-Melaine de Rennes.
In 1152, the Lord of Montfort-sur-Meu gave two pieces of agricultural land in Breteil to Saint-Jacques de Montfort abbey, a donation to participate to the monks righteous deeds.
In the town centre of Breteil, a priest called Guillaume gave a house to the abbey of Montfort-sur-Meu. In 1120, Raoul de Montfort, includes the castle of Breteil in the dowry of his daughter for her wedding with the earl of La Riolaye.
Like everywhere in Brittany and in particular in Upper Brittany, small farmers have land, but they are usually small areas. Ploughmen who have a certain ease are a little bit in minority. The others, except if they are farmers, have to be day labourers and servants. With 167 servants for 1.271 inhabitants in 1774, they were proportionally less than in some towns in the surroundings.

The territory of the parish relies on two jurisdictions: Jurisdiction of Breteil and la Riollais ; Jurisdiction of la Touche Parthenay, Launay-Sinan and la Gautrais. The head tax, twentieth and other taxes were collected by tax collectors going all over the parish, which was divided in four districts: le town centre, the abbey, la Boulais and Painbay.

The Revolution

On 1 April 1789, inhabitants gather to write down the register of grievances ahead of the next convention. Seventy-one voters vote for Mathurin Vitré de la Corbinais and Noël Legros to participate to the next meeting of the Estates of the realm of the jurisdiction of the Sénéchal of Rennes.
In January 1791, no priest take an oath to the civil Constitution of the clergy; in 1792, with the decree of the 26th of August and the election of François-Guy Martin as a priest, they are forced to go into exil or to a clandestineness eased by the help of small farmers.
The presbytery and the lodging of a buyer of the ecclesiastical goods are devastated on 18 March 1793 by about 300 bandits who will then be called Chouan (= royalists). The turmoils sparked off by the mass movement of 300 men last several days: the 19th of March, women and children sound the tocsin by hitting bells with hammers, as the fighters had been arrested the day before by the national guard of Montfort-sur-Meu. On the 22 soldiers requested to form the conscript, only 5 persons vonunteered. The national guard only needed to fire a few times to make the insurgents panic; a dozen of breteillais have been arrested but most of them have been released the day after.
In 1794, the revolt of the chouans is developing itself... At La Herdrouais, Jean Éveillard, captain of the national guard, is assassinated on 31 December while resisting to people wearing a mask and looking for guns. Marie Gallais, his mother and a half-sister suffered a similar fate on 16 December 1795.

Tourism

Tourism management in Montfort-sur-Meu" is entrusted by Montfort Community to the Tourist Office of the district of Montfort.

Buildings and other sights

Buildings

Saint Malo church

The body and the southern side of the church were built during the 16th century, the framework is dated with an inscription of 1503. The church is remarquable by its porch provided with a carinated archway.

Chapel of the Abbey

This chapel belonging to Saint-Jacques de Montfort-sur-Meu abbey, is built in schist and pudding stone.

Chapel of La Riolais

This chapel seems to have been built during the 17th century, even though the sculpted pediment located at the top of the eastern door seems to date from the 15th or 16th century. Strange fact, this chapel is not orientated. Indeed, its heart is in the South.