Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The House of the 15th century is located at the southwest corner of Place Notre-Dame in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a bastide founded in 1256 by Alphonse de Poitiers. Built on a parcel crossing between the square and Rue des Drapiers, its main facade, in fort corbellation from the first floor, overlooks Marcellin Fabre Street. The stairwell, square plan and masonry between two wood-pan elevations, probably dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. The windows were narrowed in the 18th or 19th centuries, while the broken arch of the roof could go back to the late 13th or early 14th century.

The bastide of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, founded in 1256, became a flourishing economic center, thanks in particular to its status as a seat of archpried in 1302 and the authorization to strike royal currency in 1463. The city, organized according to an orthogonal plan typical of the bastides, was ravaged by a fire in 1497, which explains the absence of houses before the 16th century. The House of the 15th century, rebuilt after this fire, preserves medieval architectural elements, such as the southern arch of the covered, vestige of the 13th or 14th century, and partially disappeared carved decorations.

The facade on Place Notre-Dame underwent major transformations in the 19th century, leaving little trace of the previous states. Inside, a quarter-round cord, bordering the ceiling soles under the canopy, could date from the late 15th or early 16th century. The house thus illustrates the architectural and urban evolutions of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, marked by its past as a prosperous commercial city and successive reconstructions after the fires.

Classified as a Historic Monument, the house enjoys special protections: its facade and staircase were classified by decree in 1914, while the covered gallery, facade and roof were protected by a decree in 1996. These measures underline its heritage importance, both for its wood-pan architecture and for its role in the urban history of this rolling bastide.

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