Historic La Suze-sur-Sarthe

(S) Start at 8–14 Rue de Roëzé.
Continue along Rue de Roëzé, passing the cemetery, then turn left into Rue du Faubourg Saint-Michel, where you should take particular note of number 1.

(1) Turn right into Rue du 8 Mai. Turn left to walk alongside the railway line and turn left again at ‘l’écluse’ along the River Sarthe. Cross the River Sarthe via the bridge.
At the end of the bridge, turn right into Rue du Moulin.

(2) Stop for a moment at number 3 Rue du Moulin and carry on to the mill at the end of the street.
Retrace your steps and take the narrow alleyway on the right-hand side – less than a metre wide – to leave Rue du Moulin.
Turn right into Rue Basse.

(3) Just past the large building at 16–18, head towards the station via Rue du Champ du Plaisir.

(4) From the station, you’ve been able to travel to Le Mans or Sablé by train since 1863. As you leave the station, turn right, then left, onto Boulevard Henri Wille. On your way, stop for a moment in front of number 6.

(5) Carry straight on. At the next junction, on your left, pause for a moment in front of the house opposite the school.

(6) Continue to the right along a winding street (Grande Rue), which is thought to have followed the course of a former moat of the medieval fortress.

(7) After number 34 (the house where Aristide Trouvé Chauvel lived) and the post office, turn right, then right again into Rue des Ormeaux. Turn left into Rue du Collège.

(8) Take Rue du Général Leclerc on the left, then turn right onto Rue Creuse, followed by a left onto Rue Maurice Loutreuil, then right onto Rue Henri Dunant

(9) Turn right into Rue Joël Le Theule, then left at the fire station roundabout onto Rue des Cèdres.

(10) Turn left at the roundabout by the sewage treatment works onto Route de Saint-Jean-du-Bois, then carry on straight ahead along the D229 towards Chevreneux and finally Sainte-Anne-du-Gué.
Caution: motor traffic.

(11) Return to the D229, follow it to the left and turn left at the hamlet of La Grande Forêt until you reach L’Étoile.

(12) Turn left onto Rue de Malicorne. Pass La Maladerie. Turn right onto Route de Mezeray, then left towards Les Basses Fontenelles / Le Petit Chardonneret.

(13) Turn left again and continue left onto Route de Foulletourte.
Take a short detour to the right to the Notre-Dame des Bois Chapel and back.
Caution: motor traffic.

(14) Continue along the D31 towards La Suze: Route de Foulletourte; pass the police station at a place called La Vivancière and, once on Rue Saint-Nicolas, turn right into Rue d’Angleterre.
Take the D289 (Route de Parigné-le-Pôlin) – turn left onto Rue des Vergers, where you’ll see a well by the roadside with just one opening at number 7.

(15) Continue along Rue des Vergers, then take Rue Jules Livier. Turn right into Rue des Tanneurs towards the care home.
Then turn left into Rue de l’Église.

(E) The Château de La Suze and its church are situated on Rue de l’Église. The church is located on Place du Marché.

Note: You can reach the (S) by crossing the River Sarthe via Rue du Pont. Go to the (1), then take the third right towards the (S) at 8–14 Rue de Roëzé.

You can park on Avenue de la Piscine (GPS: N 47°53'21.1128" E 0°1'59.6604).
To reach the start at 8–14, Rue de Roëzé, go straight on along Avenue de la Piscine (passing Ruelle du Port on your left), then turn right into Rue du 11 Novembre (be careful: if you pass the old cemetery, you have gone too far) and turn right again onto Route de Roëzé.

If you are parked at Place du Marché in the centre of La Suze-sur-Sarthe, cross the River Sarthe via the bridge to reach the start, following the signs for the finish (E).

If you’re setting off from La Suze-sur-Sarthe railway station, you can start the route from number (4).

In the Middle Ages, the seigneury of La Suze stretched along the River Sarthe from the Sablé region as far as Le Mans. The castle was linked to control of the bridge over the river, which enabled the lords to collect tolls. The present-day fortress dates from the 15th century and was built on the site of an older castle, as is still evident from its layout. Indeed, the oval shape retained by the Rue du Jardinet and the Grande Rue are the remains of the medieval ramparts encircling the feudal motte. In the 19th century, the castle housed the town hall, the magistrates’ court and the gendarmerie.

(S) 8–14 Rue de Roëzé: these brick terraced houses are typical workers’ dwellings, originally comprising two rooms.

Faubourg Saint-Michel: a district known for craft trades such as tanning. Indeed, a pottery kiln was moved from here in 1838.

(1) At number 1 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Michel there is a niche. Inside stood a statue from the Tessier workshops in Malicorne, which was removed to prevent it from being damaged.

(2) With its steeply pitched roof, the building at 3 Rue du Moulin is one of the oldest civilian structures in the town. A few small openings remain on the gable, but the south façade has been bricked up, making it impossible to date the building precisely.

At the end of Rue du Moulin, take a look at one of the town’s mills, mentioned in a text dating from 1298. In the 19th century, the Métivier and Olivier flour mill operated the mill, which was subsequently sold in 1921 by the Grands Moulins de Saint-Georges company. It was later used as an electricity distribution centre and then as a plastics factory.

(3) Overlooking the Sarthe valley, the large building at 16–18 Rue Basse belonged to a family of tanners in the 19th century. Today, the house is divided into two dwellings.

(4) The Le Mans–Sablé railway line forms the continuation of the network from Le Mans, where the railway first arrived in 1854.
At this station, an SNCF water tower dating from 1863 was used to supply water to the steam locomotives.

(5) The house built at 6 Boulevard Henri Wille by the Hervé construction firm for a local photographer wishing to spend his retirement there is typical of homes from the period just before the Second World War. The upper part is adorned with faux half-timbering painted red, and the window balustrades are made of wood.
Continue along a curved street which is thought to have followed the course of a former moat of the medieval fortress. Known as Grande Rue, this thoroughfare developed in the first half of the 19th century alongside the station district.

(6) Opposite the school, the large house opening onto a park at 4 Grande Rue was inhabited in the 19th century by members of the local ruling class. If you look closely at the dormer windows, you will notice a decoration featuring plant motifs.

(7) 34, Grande Rue: the house where Aristide Trouvé Chauvel lived.
The son of a local tanner, he became a cloth merchant in Le Mans in 1833. He served as mayor of Le Mans from 1840 to 1843. After 1848, he was Prefect of the Seine and later Minister of Finance. Following the election of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, he returned to the town to run the family tannery. After the coup d’état of 2 December, he organised barricades and rejected the Empire. Sentenced to deportation to Algeria, he managed to seek refuge in Jersey and then in Constantinople, and died in 1883.

(8) On Rue du Général Leclerc stands the École de la Renardière, which was built by the Paul Esnault company. Featuring a classical layout designed by the architect Levesque (who designed numerous administrative buildings in the 20th century), the headteacher’s accommodation adjoined the two classrooms. The staff accommodation for the teachers was on the upper floor.

(11) The railway bridge can be seen at a place known as Sainte-Anne-du-Gué. It is a remnant of the Le Mans–La Flèche line (sub-prefecture of the Sarthe), which was closed due to a lack of profitability, as La Flèche did not experience significant economic development.

(14) A former place of worship, the altar of the Notre-Dame-des-Bois Chapel is said to rest on the stump of an old oak tree. For a very long time, pilgrims have been coming here to pray specifically to the Virgin Mary on behalf of soldiers. Votive offerings are placed on the walls and military medals are on display. The western section is the oldest, and its later chancel likely replaces a Romanesque-era structure. The windows were added at a later date and feature metal grilles crafted by a local blacksmith. In the 11th century, the chapel was donated to La Couture Abbey by Lon de Roëzé.

(15) As the area is close to the river and some houses do not have their own wells, the well situated by the roadside on the Parigné-le-Pôlin road, at number 7 Rue des Vergers, enabled local residents to fetch water.

(E) Saint Julien Church is the former castle chapel, of which the crypt and chancel are the oldest parts. Owing to the slope of the ground, the church’s very massive chancel is quite high, and large buttresses made of coarse-grained roussard stone counteract the upward thrust. One of the few crypts in the department, this small vaulted structure, supported by two enormous pillars of roussard and sandstone, was the burial place of the lords of La Suze, who were laid to rest in lead coffins, themselves placed within wooden coffins. The remains were scattered and the lead recovered during the Revolution. The crypt was subsequently used as a storeroom by private individuals. During the 19th century, the church underwent a major restoration which stripped it of its historic character and disrupted the overall harmony of the building. The bell tower was then bell-shaped. On the walls of the church’s nave (notable according to writings predating the restoration), several 17th-century epitaphs are affixed. These inscriptions are from clergy or prominent figures of the parish, such as Michel Huard, the parish priest who died on 10 April 1639. Now located inside the church (previously above the north portal), parts of the statue of the Virgin Mary are damaged. On Mary’s right arm, a figure of Christ is positioned, with one hand resting on her breast.