Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house located at 32 rue Briçonnet in Tours, in the Indre-et-Loire department, is a 15th century building typical of medieval Tourangelle architecture. Built of cut stone on the ground floor and wooden panels for the floors, it illustrates the mixture of materials common in the cities of that time. Its facade, roof and exterior carved wooden staircase were listed as historic monuments on June 22, 1946, recognizing their heritage value.

The house is located in the Old Towers, on a medieval road linking the Basilica of Saint Martin to the Loire. Originally, it was contiguous to the church of Saint-Pierre-le-Puellier and its cloister, which had now disappeared. Its restoration after the Second World War allowed to find hidden architectural elements, such as carved lamp asses depicting St Peter and St Paul, or the wooden staircase balusters. Prior to this restoration, the facade was covered with a slate core, a common practice for protecting wooden panels.

The building has two floors and a attic, with a first floor in corbellation supported by carved consoles. The staircase, partially closed, serves the floors and is a remarkable example of the craft of the time. The house thus reflects the medieval urban organization, where houses, places of worship and commercial spaces (such as the shop on the ground floor) coexisted closely.

The protected elements — facade, roof and staircase — bear witness to the importance attached to preserving medieval architectural details. The house, though private, remains a tangible testimony of urban life in Tours in the 15th century, a period marked by the development of cities around religious and commercial axes.

External links