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Origin and history

The house at 22 Place des Lices in Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine, is an emblematic building of Breton architectural heritage. Built between 1657 and 1659, it is one of the private hotels built on land ceded by the Communauté de Ville in 1657, as part of an urban project to embellish the west of Place des Lices. This land, which is dedicated to local parliamentarians and notables, has allowed the creation of a homogeneous set of bourgeois residences, of which this house is a representative example.

In 1681, the property belonged to Sieur du Mans, a merchant specialized in silks and carpets, reflecting Rennes' commercial dynamism at that time. A century later, in 1737, it passed into the hands of the Jamois de la Musse family. These changes of ownership testify to his coveted status among the Rennes elite. The building, marked by neat architectural elements such as triangular pediment stacks and a niche in the middle of the hanger above the door, was inscribed in historical monuments on October 18, 1962.

The architecture of the house is distinguished by its two contrasting facades. On the Place des Lices side, it has two floors with three openings, with windows largely framed with oric mouldings and adorned supports. The rear façade, overlooking Rue Saint-Louis, has three floors and preserves old carpentry on the ground floor, including a remarkable wood cross. These details, described by Paul Banéat in 1911, highlight the functional and aesthetic duality of the building, typical of the urban hotels of the time.

The 1962 protection covers facades, roofs, chimney stumps and the interior staircase, thus preserving the most significant elements of its heritage. Today, the house remains a tangible testimony of the 17th century Rennes urban planning and the social evolution of its occupants, from merchants to parliamentary families. Its central location, in the historic heart of Rennes, makes it a point of interest for the study of Breton civil architecture.

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