Le Faou

Le Faou controlled a river crossing and the innermost maritime approaches of Brest's roadstead. In 1371 its viscounty passed by marriage to the Quélennec family, which retained it until 1572. The settlement grew between castle and harbour, with two parishes joined by a bridge. Market halls recorded in 1540, merchants' houses, a court and a prison made it a centre of exchange and local jurisdiction. Warfare reached the town in 1598, when it was pillaged during the wars of the League.

During the seventeenth century, its tidal harbour carried timber from the Cranou forest to Brest's arsenal. Coastal shipping and local shipyards tied the small town to naval construction. In 1764 an engineer's street-widening scheme began to alter its crowded main street, although only part of the proposed demolition was carried out. Harbour works began in 1835.