Timeline

Heritage classified

Origin and history

The 15th century house in Blois is a typical example of late medieval civil architecture. Its street façade features a first floor in wooden panels, with a coated filling and three windows. Four carved frames adorn this part, while a central carved head and a wooden cord decorated with animal heads frame the whole. A wood-paned crumb frieze surmounts this floor, and the right part of the facade is entirely composed of crumbs. These elements reflect construction techniques and decorative motifs in vogue at the end of the Middle Ages.

The construction of the house dates back to the 15th century, at the edge of the 16th century, as evidenced by its prismatic-moulded sandy beams, the ends of which are adorned with engulfing. In the mid-19th century, changes were made, including a resumption of internal distributions and of the north façade overlooking Vauvert Street. These transformations illustrate the adaptation of the building to the needs and tastes of later times.

The facade on the street and the roof of the house were protected by a registration order under the Historical Monuments on 28 November 1946. This classification underscores the heritage value of the building, especially for its wood-paned architecture and its carved elements, characteristic of bourgeois or artisanal houses of the late Middle Ages in the region.

The exact address of the house is 30 rue de la Foulerie in Blois, although sources also mention an approximate location at 1 rue Vauvert. This duality of addresses could reflect changes in street layout or transcription errors over the centuries. The accuracy of the location is estimated to be 6 out of 10, indicating a priori satisfactory but perfectable location.

The architectural elements of the house, such as the drippings and carved heads, recall the symbolic and decorative importance attached to the facades of urban houses at the end of the Middle Ages. These patterns could have an apotropaic function (protect the building) or simply aesthetic, reflecting the owner's social status or membership of a corporation.

Finally, the house of Blois is part of the wider context of medieval town planning, marked by a rich civil and religious architectural heritage. Blois, a strategic town located on the banks of the Loire River, experienced an important economic and cultural boom in the 15th and 16th centuries, favoring the construction of wood-paned houses like this one, evidence of the prosperity of the period.

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