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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Romanesque house of Loisail, also known as the House of Audience, is a medieval building located in the village of Loisail, north of the church of Saint Martin and west of the castle. Dating from the 12th century, it is distinguished by its limestone structure, its Romanesque berries (simple and gemini), and its flat foothills. Its local name, the Audience, suggests a judicial function from the Middle Ages, confirmed by the cadastral plan of 1830 which designates it as prison, indicating a prison use at the end of the Old Regime.

The building rises on two levels: a ground floor divided into a large room and a vaulted room, and a square floor topped by a top. A straight arched staircase, dug into the rock, leads to an underground space of uncertain use (cave, quarry or dungeon). The facades preserve remains of obstructed Romanesque bays, including a geminate bay framed by an arcade in the middle of the hangar. The arched stone above a south gate (buched coat of arms) and a window dated 1632 testify to modifications in the 16th–17th centuries. In the 19th century, the building housed a village grocery store before being restored in the late 20th century.

Ranked among the historical monuments since September 3, 1974 (facades and roofs), the Romanesque house illustrates the architectural and functional evolution of a Norman medieval building. Its Romanesque fireplace, described in the 19th century by Léon de La Sicotière as framed by columns with capitals, has now disappeared. Flat tiles and foothills supporting the old chimney complete its historic character.

The sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum, Mérimée base) precisely locate the monument at the address 1 Rue Saint-Martin, 61400 Loisail, in the department of Orne (region Normandy). Its Insee code (61229) and its approximate location (precision: 6/10) make it an accessible heritage, although its current use (visit, rental) is not documented.

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