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Saint
Coulomb draws its name from Saint Colomban, an
Irish monk who arrived in 580 on the beach of Guesclin
before leaving to evanglise Europe. |
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The arms :
From sinople to the sand cross,
in silver cross carrying four
golden malouiniere covered with
sand. A mural crown , with three
gold towers, each one with an
ermine tip.
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The settlement of
the site is very old. From the second iron age, towards 450
before JC, on the Pointe du Meinga, there remains a
fragment of the enclosing wall. One also finds traces of the
Roman presence in various places of the commune such as on the
small island of Guesclin. |
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to the legend, in VIIIème century, a Saracen king,
Acquin, trying to escape the carolingiennes armies
arrived on a beach of the Armorican littoral and was
installed on a rock called Glay with women, children and
slaves. They remained there 30 years. With the imminent
arrival of Charlemagne, they precipitately left the
small island leaving in their flight a child.
Charlemagne collected this child and gave him the
patronym of Glay Acquin. Over the centuries, Glay Acquin
was transformed into Guarplic, Clakin then of Guesclin. |
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The descendants of this child reigned
over the seigniory of Saint-Coulomb. In about 1254, the lord of Guarplic
set up a fortress inside the grounds, Plessis Bertrand.
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The
Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, belongs to a junior branch of
this famous family. |
In the Middle Ages, the Seigniory of
the Plessis-Bertrand extended his jurisdiction to the parishes of Saint
Coulomb, Cancale and the neighbouring communes, even to the foot of the
ramparts of Saint-Malo. One can still see the ruins of the castle of
Plessis Bertrand, imposing fortress dismantled in 1598 following the war
which opposed Catholics and Protestants.
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The sea mill of le Lupin
belonged to this seigniory; one of the oldest of Brittany, which
already existed in 1200. Today, only the dam remains but one can
admire the remarkable site of Le Havre of Rothéneuf next to
Besnard’s Island and the dunes of the Guimorais, the only
littoral coast of Ille and Vilaine. |
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In the XVIIème
century, the rich ship-owners inhabitants of Saint Malo,
living inside the narrow walls of Saint-Malo, decided to
build in the hinterland, the malouinières,
gentilhommières with a style strongly marked by the
military architecture of Garangeau, devotee of Vauban.
One counts nearly 20 malouinières in the commune, all
inhabited and maintained by impassioned owners. |
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The estate of
La Ville Bague was was built
by the Eon de Penfentenio family,
a family of wealthy St Malo
traders who had opened several
trading posts abroad...
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If the french revolution
saved our Saint-Patron (the commune took the name of “Colomban
Rocher”) it did not save the men. The drama of la Fosse-Hingant
testifies that, this malouinière was marked by treason, in March
1793, of a close relation of the marquis de la Rouèrie, during
one of the important events of the “Chouannerie”. |
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It is in 1911 that the
marchioness of Morny, known better by the name of Missy, bought,
in the name of her friend, Sidonie-Gabrielle COLETTE, a villa
located on the beach of Touesse, Roz Ven. Colette
remained there between 1911 and 1926. The house then accomodated
many artists and authors such Theophilus Briant poet and editor
who stayed in the Tour du Vent, in Saint-Malo Colette wrote
there in particular "Le Blé en Herbe" which tells the loves of 2
teenagers in the rustic atmosphere of Saint-Coulomb. After her
seperation from Colette, Missy settled in the "Primerose Villa",
in the east of the beach of Guimorais. |
More recently, history did not spare
Saint-Coulomb. The littoral still carries the signs of the 2nd world
war, one can see several blockhouses, established there to prevent an
allied disembarkation from the South Cotentin coast.
In the Sixties, Léo Ferré
(French singer) and his famous monkey “Pépé”lived on the small
island of Guesclin. The brutal death of Pépé led to his
departure for Tuscany where he remained until his death.
With XIXème and XXème centuries, many colombanais left for
“Terre Neuve” to fish cod. The local economy was then ensured by
the farming of vegetables. |
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This activity is now declining.
Today, Saint-Coulomb, town of 2300 inhabitants, is developping
within the community of agglomeration, Saint-Malo Agglomération;
a green heart of the littoral of Ille and Vilaine, Saint-Coulomb
attracts many tourists.
Its preserved landscapes and its rich heritage are often used as
a scene with cinematographic productions: "La Ceremonie" of
Claude Chabrol, the television serial "Entre Terre et Mer" of
Herve Baslé, originally from the area, "Selon Charly" of Nicole
Garcia was made in Roz-Ven in spring 2005... |
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