Forteresse de Largoet: Where is the Ghost?
The Forteresse de Largoet Ruins
The Forteresse de Largoet inner keep is actually much larger than it looks from the outside. We took a good hour exploring the grounds and the octagonal tower. Keep reading below to join us on our exploration!
The Octagonal Tower
The octagonal keep is unquestionably the most stunning feature of the castle ruins. Even though the roof is long gone, the tower is no less impressive. It stands an incredible 57 meters, measured from the base in the moat, to the very top. The Forteresse de Largoet website claims it is the tallest keep in France (but you have to count the bit in the moat as well).
Both spiral staircases are open to the public. For everyone’s safety, children need to be kept under the supervision of an adult, while exploring the tower. The steps in both staircases are narrow and a little slippery because of the humidity, so take your time and watch your step as you go up and down. You can explore both sides of the tower and a lot of the small rooms, connecting off the stone stairs.
If you master the 177 steps to the top, the view is quite stunning. Even though a metal gate prevents you from stepping out onto the crumbling top, you can get a glimpse of the surroundings through the opening and the windows in the stairwell.
The Forteress de Largoet’s Tower Layout
The guide explains the inner layout of octagonal keep. This was the main living area of the lord and lady of Largoet, their children, and personal guards. The inside really is a maze of narrow stairways, tiny side rooms, and connecting walkways.
Image Source: http://www.largoet.com/index.html
From the main floor and throughout the height of the tower, you get a great view of the inner construction. You can make out the remnants of several large fire places and beautiful window seats. You also get a sense of how thick the stone walls are.
In some of the little side rooms you notice a dramatic green glow, coming from the sunlight reflecting off the walls covered in green growth. And you will no doubt take note of the lingering damp smell that seems to seep through the walls and surround you everywhere you go inside the octagonal tower.
The Question of Heat
Even though the windows were covered by window panes, some of the narrow arrow slots were open. So, you can imagine how drafty and chilly the tower would have been, despite the fire places. People would have been fully dressed in several layers of clothing, even in the summer, as the castle remained cool inside. The winters were even worse, with the dampness spreading throughout. You wanted to move quickly from one heated (and smoky) room to another, avoiding the cold hallways and stairways as much as you could.
And some poor servant had to lug fire wood throughout the entire tower every day, making sure the fires remained burning and stocked. The fire wood was kept inside an underground cellar within the inner keep. This meant someone had to constantly go outside in the winter and carry in loads of fire wood to keep the Lord and Lady of Largoet happy…you’ll probably never look at your central heat the same again
Forteresse de Largoet’s Famous “Guest”
Largoet was host to a very famous tower “guest” in 1474. A lot of you might have heard of King Henry VIII of England, with his six wives. During the War of the Roses, Henry VIII’s father, Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond, was held prisoner at Largoet in 1474. Henry was held in different castles in Brittany during his exile, which included a short stay at Largoet. A stone tablet marks the small room Henry Tudor stayed in – or more accurately, was kept prisoner in.
Legends
Alright, let’s talk about the million dollar question – where is the ghost? By local accounts, the Forteresse de Largoet is one of the most haunted places in France. Several French ghost hunting/paranormal TV shows and independent YouTube ghost hunters have filmed episodes at Largoet. Sir Simon Marsden, a British author and photographer spent time at Largoet and claimed the keep is extremely haunted. He claimed to have seen a supernatural, crippled being, with matted hair and twisted legs, staring him down. Probably a prisoner who died at Largoet once upon a time.
Considering Largoet’s very long history, it is easy to imagine some leftover energies hanging around and wreaking havoc when the sun goes down. People lived and died at Largoet for hundreds of years. And some likely did not die of natural causes or by choice. The site is only open during daylight hours, so we were not able to explore for ourselves after dark. But, it would certainly be an interesting adventure for a future post. Stay tuned and maybe we’ll do a “Castles and Stuff goes ghost hunting” episode!
Another mystery is a supposed tunnel that led out of the castle and into the town of Elven. In case of attack or siege, castle inhabitants could quietly leave the keep and escape into the night unseen. It is possible the tunnel would be caved in now and no concrete location for the entrance has been unearthed. But…and this is exciting, renovation works at the Lion d’Or, an inn in nearby Elven, have uncovered something that might prove to be the other end of the tunnel. Time will tell…what do you think?
Image Source: https://www.yelp.fr/biz/le-lion-d-or-elven
Lake Walk and Surroundings
There are also a bunch of interesting things scattered outside the curtain walls. As you exit the gate house, take a left and follow the path to the lake. As you walk past the octagonal keep, you can really see how deep the moat actually was. Just outside the postern gate, there is a pile of rocks bordering the moat (just on the other side of the little wooden fence/barrier). It is possible this was some sort of dungeon, like an oubliette, where prisoners would literally be dropped into a hole in the ground and forgotten about.
Walking toward the lake, you can also get a great side view of the main lodgings, which are overgrown and a little hard to make out from the inner keep. From the side, you can get an idea of how large this building would have been. It would have contained several floors. The wooden beams and floorboards have all rotted away, but you can still make out dozens of support holes that would have held the many floors.
Forteresse de Largoet from Across the Lake
The lake is a very pretty place to take some pictures of the ruins. The function of the lake itself is still unclear because it did not connect to any larger rivers or the ocean for shipping traffic. It was probably used as a fresh water reservoir, provided fishing, and fed the moat. I guess it’s always handy to have a lake with your castle
There is evidence that small boats were anchored in the moat, but again it is not clear if they were built at Largoet and used there, transported somewhere else, or if they arrived from a different place where they were constructed.
