Bénodet - Saint-Thomas

In Bénodet existed a priory founded probably in 1231. The chapel was built at the end of the thirteenth. It was dedicated to Saint Thomas of Canterbury.

This was a political statement. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in 1170, after Henry II of England (aka "Henry Plantagenet") in a conflict with Becket had asked "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?". Thomas was canonized already three years later on 21 February 1173.

This small church is one of the oldest Gothic structures in Brittany. Of couse it got rebuilt and enlarged a couple of times. Last time after the bell tower was collapsed during a storm in 1836. While the widened nave is from the 15th the choir, seen here, is 13th century.