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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The canon house of Laon, located at 3 rue Pourrier, dates from the 2nd half of the 12th century. It was part of the claustrum, a closed enclosure reserved for the canons of the cathedral, allowing them to live in reclus south of the building. This canonical district housed up to 450 members in the 12th–13th century, one of the most important congregations in the kingdom. The building, made of limestone and wood, preserves medieval elements such as a fireplace and a staircase turret, although partially redesigned (XIII, XVII and XIX centuries).

Ranked a historic monument since 6 March 1928, the protection covers the facade, roofs and chimney stumps on street. The original medieval staircase was replaced in the 16th century by a spiral staircase. At the back, a 17th century house body, in stone and slate, completes the whole. The house illustrates canonial domestic architecture and the successive transformations of an urban hotel linked to religious life.

The site is part of Laon's ancient canonical enclosure, marked by its spiritual and social role. The canons, keys to the ecclesiastical administration, lived there under strict rules, between prayer and the management of the goods of the chapter. The house, with its Gothic fireplace and 12th century cornice, bears witness to their way of life and to the evolution of constructive techniques, from medieval droprot walls to modern piercings.

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