Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The log house at 26 Rue des Buttes in Confolens (Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine) dates from the 16th century. It illustrates late medieval civil architecture, marked by the use of short woods and corbellations, techniques widespread in Western Europe at that time. Its elevation is divided into two levels: a partially redone ground floor, and a protruding floor, structured by irregular panels of wood. The left side of the facade has three additional levels, adorned with the cross of Saint Andrew, which are closer to the first floor and wider to the second, while the right side has two.

Wood-paned houses, such as Confolens, reflect a major technical evolution between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In the 16th century, the technique of short wood gradually replaced that of long wood, facilitating construction in urban areas and allowing spectacular corbellations. The latter, although practical to gain space and avoid taxes (calculated on the floor surface), were gradually banned for reasons of hygiene and safety, especially in Rouen as early as 1520. The house of Confolens, with its facades and roofs protected since 1973, bears witness to this architectural transition.

The decor of the house, sober but structured, fits in with the late Gothic style, where the wooden elements (sanders, sleds) could be carved for the wealthy owners. The original colours, often based on red ochre, protected the wood while marking a social status. In Confolens, as in other cities of New Aquitaine, these houses served both as housing, workshop (workshop on the ground floor) and housing for workers or domestic workers on the upper floors. Their preservation today is part of a late heritageization, initiated in the 20th century, aimed at saving these remains of medieval carpenter know-how.

The house was listed as a Historic Monument in 1973 for its facades and roofs, highlighting its architectural and historical interest. Its curved passage on the ground floor and the asymmetrical arrangement of the crosses of Saint Andrew make it a remarkable example of the adaptation of local constructive techniques. Although the Poitou-Charentes region (now New Aquitaine) is not as rich in half-timbered as Normandy or Alsace, this building recalls the past omnipresence of this type of construction, before the stone was permanently imposed in the urban centres in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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