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Origin and history

The house Carlier, also called the castle, is a historical monument located in Lherm, in the Lot (Occitanie). Built between the 15th and 17th centuries, it consists of two adjoining buildings: a rectangular four-storey building (including a semi-entered cellar) erected in the second half of the 15th century, and a second trapezoidal body, equipped with a round turret with a screw staircase, added at the end of the 16th or early 17th century. The ensemble illustrates the architectural evolution between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with traces of internal communication between the two parts.

Wrongly attributed to the bishop of Cahors, the house was actually built by merchants. Two of them, Gabriel Torrelha (born in Figeac) and Guillaume Laur, were co-owners at the end of the 15th century. Its name evokes the carral (chewing in Occitan), recalling the local mining and steel industry after the Hundred Years' War. The northern facade features a broken arched door and silled bays, while the interior decoration (stem-l-eye diamond dots) dates back to the Renaissance period.

Ranked a historic monument in 1988 for its facades, roofs, fireplaces and tower, the Carlier House bears witness to the economic dynamism of Lherm, linked to forges and commerce. Its hybrid architecture reflects the social and technical transitions of the era, between residual defensive function and emerging bourgeois comfort. No public visits are organised today.

The archaeological and historical sources (studies by Maurice Scellès, 1989) confirm its role in the urban heritage of the Bouriane, a region marked by the exploitation of iron and the trade between Quercy and Périgord. The structural changes, such as the addition of the staircase in the screws, underline the adaptation of the local elites to the new standards of life in the Renaissance.

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