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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The house with beams of Lonzaygues illustrates a rare constructive technique, which appeared in the North-Agenas between the late 15th and early 16th centuries. These houses, built in squared logs, are concentrated around the cantons of Villeréal and Castillonnès, with a diffusion to Issigeac and Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Their construction coincides with the repopulation of the region after the Hundred Years' War, thanks to migratory waves coming from the Central Massif (Rouergue, Quercy, Auvergne) and Poitou. The local lords offered land to clear in exchange for the construction of dwellings, thus promoting this vernacular architecture.

The dendrochronological study confirms that these houses mostly date from the last quarter of the 15th and early 16th centuries. Their ethnological and archaeological interest was recognized by the regional heritage commissions, leading to the classification or registration of seven of them between 1991 and 1992. The house of Lonzaygues, classified in 1998, combines a ground floor of half-wood planks and a wooden and torchi floor, surrounded by galleries carried by flint poles. This type of construction reflects the local adaptations to the available resources, especially the abundant wood in this border area between Agenais and Périgord.

The name "stackhouse" was popularized by 20th century researchers, including François Fray, who identified 53 copies in the region. These houses bear witness to the post-war cultural and technical exchanges of the Hundred Years, where immigrant families imported know-how, such as that of piled logs, comparable to Scandinavian constructions. Their preservation underlines the importance of this rural heritage, marked by a period of reconstruction and demographic renewal after medieval devastation.

The historical context of these houses is linked to the end of the Hundred Years War (1453) and the desire to repopulate devastated territories. Two waves of immigration, between 1472–85 and 1515–30, allowed to revitalize villages like those in the Dropt Valley, affected by plague. The advantageous conditions offered by the lords (land to be cleared, tax exemption) encouraged the installation of populations from the Central Massif or Poitou, contributing to the dissemination of this characteristic architecture.

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