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Key figures

Origin and history

The house located at 23 rue des Halles in Vannes is a remarkable example of medieval Breton civil architecture, built between the 15th and 16th centuries. This wood-paned building, with corbellations and gable on the street, is distinguished by its carved frame, adorned sandstones, and double arcade aisles. The structure combines two housing bodies: one aligned on the street, mentioned as early as 1455 as the property of Jehan de Vennes, goldsmith, and the other extended later, forming a coherent set with a back yard and appentis, attested in the archives of 1677 as belonging to François Mallet, master apothecary.

The facade retains original elements such as polygonal cap consoles, high and low sandstones, and ground beams under the advances. The original openings, initially aligned, were replaced by wider crossovers during major restorations in the 4th quarter of the 20th century. These works have profoundly altered the base, the interior distribution, and the stairwell, while partially preserving the traces of the old staircase with screws in the vaulted basement. The monument, inscribed in the inventory of Historic Monuments in 1929 for its facade and roof, illustrates the architectural and social evolution of Vannes, a commercial and administrative city of Brittany.

The archives reveal a later alley, now extinct, which linked the courtyard of the house to nearby properties northward. This detail, coupled with the unchanged dimensions of the building since the seventeenth century, highlights the integration of the house into the medieval urban fabric. Although modern transformations have altered certain aspects, the wood panel structure and carved decorations remain valuable evidence of the constructive techniques and way of life of the valveite urban elites, between crafts (goldware) and commerce (apothecary).

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