![Tour-solidor-and-bay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Tour-solidor-and-bay.jpg)
Solidor Tower (in French ''tour Solidor'') is a strengthened
keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
with three linked towers, located in the estuary of the river
Rance
Rance may refer to:
Places
* Rance (river), northwestern France
* Rancé, a commune in eastern France, near Lyon
* Ranče, a small settlement in Slovenia
* Rance, Wallonia, part of the municipality of Sivry-Rance
** Rouge de Rance, a Devonian re ...
in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
.
It was built between 1369 and 1382 by
John V, Duke of Brittany
John V, sometimes numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise ( br, Yann ar Fur; french: Jean le Sage), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of t ...
(i.e. Jean IV in French) to control access to the Rance at a time when the city of
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast.
The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...
did not recognize his authority. Over the centuries the tower lost its military interest and became a jail. It is now a museum celebrating Breton sailors exploring
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
.
The Solidor Tower is located in the former town of
Saint-Servan
Saint-Servan (often abbreviated as St. Servan; br, Sant-Servan) is a town of western France, in Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of Saint-Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants.
History
In June 1758, during the Seven Ye ...
, which merged with Saint-Malo and Paramé in 1967.
It is featured in the 1957 Wendy Toye film ''
True as a Turtle
''True as a Turtle'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Wendy Toye and starring John Gregson, Cecil Parker, June Thorburn and Keith Michell. In the film, a young couple embark on a voyage on a ketch named ''Turtle''. John Coates wrote th ...
'' starring
John Gregson
Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.
He was cr ...
,
Cecil Parker
Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...
,
June Thorburn
Patricia June Thorburn Smith (8 June 1931 – 4 November 1967) was a popular English actress whose career was cut short by her death in an air crash.
Early life
Thorburn was born in Karachi, then part of British India. She was the eldest ...
and
Keith Michell
Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII. He appeared extensively in Shakespear ...
.
''True as a Turtle'' at IMDB
/ref>
References
External links
Museum of the History of the Town and the Pays Malouin
{{coord, 48, 38, 2, N, 2, 1, 34, W, region:FR_type:landmark_source:frwiki, display=title
Castles in Brittany
Buildings and structures in Ille-et-Vilaine
Saint-Malo
Museums in Ille-et-Vilaine
Local museums in France
Monuments historiques of Ille-et-Vilaine