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Origin and history

The so-called Leygonie building, located 13 rue de la Petite-Place in Brive-la-Gaillarde, is an emblematic 16th-century building, although its origins date back partly to the 14th century. Built in local sandstone (brasier) with frames of fine Grammont sandstone bays, it features a trapezoidal plan complete with a rectangular extension housing a masonry staircase. This staircase, with a right fly and rotating quarters, is open on three levels and surmounted by a croup roof. The cot vaulted basement and the 14th and 17th century chimneys, including one with bosses, highlight the historic stratification of the site. The remains of a skeleton on the ground floor suggest the ancient existence of a private garden on a plot today rebuilt.

The façade on the rue de la Petite-Place was largely redesigned between 1821 and 1839 to align with the new urban plans, but retains five medieval doors in broken hanger as well as two 14th century filling and dusting windows. A chimney of the same period, studied in the Palissy base, remains on the first floor. In the 17th century, a north wing was added with an external staircase serving a construction that had now disappeared, visible on the cadastre of 1823. The passage of the Doctrinaires, formerly a private court, illustrates this transformation. Restored in 1982 by the city, the building saw its bays restored after those of the Raymondie hotel in Martel (Lot). Today, it is owned by municipal authorities and houses administrative services.

The elements protected by the decree of 30 March 1979 include facades, roofs, staircases with galleries, and four historic chimneys. The building thus combines architectural traces of the 14th, 16th and 17th centuries, reflecting the successive adaptations of a large house or a former aristocratic hotel. Its partial slate feel, added during restorations, and the remains of destroyed wall decor (photographed during the works) recall the challenges of its preservation. The building embodies both Brive's medieval civil heritage and the urban changes of modern and contemporary times.

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