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Origin and history

The Lower House, located in Capestang in the Hérault, is a large house dating from the 1st quarter of the 16th century. Today it would have belonged to the archbishop of Narbonne to house its vigoers or to a dignitary of the collegiate chapter. Its exterior, very redesigned, contrasts with a preserved interior, especially on the first floor, where remains a primitive ceiling decorated with beams, inclined metopes and coats of arms.

Eight metopes of the ceiling have coats of arms, two characters and floral motifs, while the beams have experienced geometric decorations. A Renaissance fireplace is distinguished by its column legs, vertical hood and flamboyant mouldings. Two lions support a stumped shield, an erased symbol, perhaps linked to its original owner. These elements, protected since 1957, illustrate the historic significance of the site.

The location of the Maison Baste, 20 Place Jean Jaurès, is approximate (precision: 5/10). Its present state reflects successive transformations, but the interior remains, like an old Renaissance window converted into a door, recall its past prestige. The monument, inscribed in the Historical Monuments, remains a rare testimony of Renaissance civil architecture in Languedoc.

At the time of its construction, Capestang, under ecclesiastical and seigneurial influence, was a crossroads between Narbonne and Béziers. The vigoers, representatives of the archbishop, exercised justice and administration there. The Lower House, by its decor and its size, suggests a place of power or representation, linked to the local or religious elite.

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