Fountain of the Oyster Washers and Saint Méen Church

This work by sculptor Jean Fréour pays homage to the Cancalaises who washed oysters before mechanization.

The Fontaine des laveuses d'huitres is a fountain with a bronze statue by the sculptor Jean Fréour, which pays tribute to the women of Cancale who washed oysters at the beginning of the 20th century, before mechanization. The fountain is located in the square of the Saint-Méen church, in the center of Cancale, a city famous for its oyster production. The Saint-Méen church is a neo-Gothic building dating from the 19th century, dedicated to Saint Méen, a Breton monk who is said to have founded Cancale in the 6th century.

The church Saint-Meen was built in 1875 (when the old church had become too small: komoot.com/highlight/475850), by the architect Alfred-Louis Frangeul, but lack of money, part of the choir, aisles and the tower of the bell tower are not realized at the end of the work in 1886. A fire destroys the roof in 1906. The architect Hyacinthe Perrin finishes the church in 1931-32, respecting the plans of Frangeul of 1875, with the entrepreneur Brunet. He adds to the tower of the steeple, a lantern of the dead. On the church square stands a fountain with a sculpture, bronze artist Jean Fréour, composed of two washer oysters symbolizing the work of Cancalaises in the early twentieth century before mechanization. fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancale#Autres_lieux_et_monuments