Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

La Maison Parcollet is a 15th-century wooden house located in Saint-Dizier, Haute-Marne department. It is distinguished by its preserved structure despite the great fire of 1775 which ravaged the city. Its ground floor houses a foyère plaque decorated with lily flowers, dated 1569, showing its domestic use and social status.

The building occupies the corner of Catel and Emile-Giros streets, in a medieval area partially spared by the flames. Its oak frame, assembled by tenons and mortises, supports a filling of torchi (clay and straw) covered with lime. The carved poles, especially the columnettes and dais, suggest a neat decoration, perhaps linked to a missing statuette.

Ranked a historic monument in 1945, the house owes its survival to its location in the ancient nucleus around the church of Notre-Dame. The frescoes of the backyard (1992) contrast with its medieval authenticity. Today, it houses a restaurant, combining heritage value and contemporary use.

Foyer plates of cast iron, like that of 1569, were produced in foundries in north-eastern France, a region rich in minerals and wood. These elements, combined with the blown stained glass windows, reflect 16th century craft techniques, a period of transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

The type of wood panel construction was widespread in wet Champagne, thanks to the abundance of oak forests. The Parcollet House, which is attached to other similar houses, forms a rare set illustrating medieval urban planning. Its classification protects an architectural heritage threatened by fires and subsequent reconstructions.

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