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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The house located at 70 rue Colbert, in Tours (Indre-et-Loire), is an old mansion built in the 15th century, partially renovated in the 18th century. Its facades and roofs, typical of wood-paned architecture, were inscribed in historical monuments by order of 8 July 1946. The south facade, overlooking Colbert Street, is covered with slates, while the side of Place Foire-le-Roi leaves visible the original wooden panels. A wrought iron balcony, probably added in the 18th century, adorns the bay on the first floor.

The house is located in a historic part of Tours, the Old Towers, at the corner of Rue Colbert and Place Foire-le-Roi. Colbert Street, along an ancient route, was until the 18th century the main artery of the city, linking the Basilica of Saint Martin to the west and the Cathedral of Saint-Gatien to the east. The Fair-le-Roi square, meanwhile, housed in the Middle Ages the major trade fairs of Tours, stressing the economic importance of this sector.

The building combines a two-storey masonry ground floor with a wooden attic. This mixture of constructive techniques reflects architectural developments between the Middle Ages and the modern era. Although modified, the structure retains emblematic elements of the urban landscape of the Tourangeau, such as the serencing of slates and wrought iron decorations, which witness the successive adaptations of the structure to the needs and tastes of the eras.

The inscription of historical monuments in 1946 preserved this heritage, representative of both the medieval heritage of Tours and the urban transformations of the following centuries. The house thus illustrates the historical continuity of the city centre, between medieval commercial heritage and Enlightenment.

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