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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The House of the Sénéchal, built in Gourdon around 1500, is a private hotel whose construction takes place between the late 15th and 17th centuries. The building, probably built by bringing together several pre-existing houses, consists of a main body on street connected by a stair tower to a rear body. His name comes from his alleged use as residence of the senechal, representative of King Charles VIII after the establishment of a senate floor in Gourdon at the end of the 15th century. The exterior facades, like that of Rue du Majou, have ground arches on the ground floor and cross-sections adorned on the upper floors, while latrines and remains of cross-sections remain on the inner courtyard.

Inside, the House of the Sénéchal houses three major decorative ensembles: a 16th century wall painting illustrating the Genesis of the Virgin on the first floor, a painted ceiling decorated with rinceaux and cartridges in the 17th century in the rear body, and a fireplace with woodwork and painted canvases dated from 1686 on the second floor. The interior features, including chimneys and ceilings, reflect changes made in the 17th century, during which time the house was enlarged by annexing a nearby plot. The arcades on the ground floor, initially condemned, were reopened after 1971. Ranked Historic Monument in 2015, the building now belongs to the commune of Gourdon.

Access to the house is via a narrow courtyard accessible from an impasse in the southwest, where a gate overlooks the stair tower and a segmental arcade leading to the rear body, strongly redesigned. The interior decorations, such as the room on the first floor dedicated to the life of the Virgin or the landscape paintings near the fireplaces, reflect the evolution of artistic tastes between Renaissance and classical times. The accuracy of its location remains poor (level 5/10), but its official address is 17 rue du Majou. The house thus illustrates the civil architecture lotis, mixing residential, administrative functions (linked to the senate floor) and perhaps commercial, as evidenced by the shop arcades on the ground floor.

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