Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

This corner house, located on 2 rue du Grand-Marché and 1 rue du Change in Tours, illustrates the civil architecture of the 15th and 17th centuries. Built in wood on a stone ground floor, it retains a vaulted basement in a cradle and mason marks dated 1533 and 1536. These inscriptions, accompanied by symbols of stone tailor, attest to work done during the first half of the sixteenth century. The interior reveals carpentry of the last quarter of the seventeenth century, showing a phase of subsequent renovation.

The house was restored around 1970, preserving its facades and roofs classified as Historic Monument by order of 9 September 1949. Its wooden sturdiness has been replaced by a brick masonry, a common technique to strengthen the durability of half-timbered constructions. The ensemble is part of an alignment of houses on the street, reflecting the medieval and modern town planning of Tours, a city marked by its commercial and artisanal role in the Loire Valley.

Protected features include facades and roofs, highlighting the heritage value of this hybrid building. Although the fireplace on the 1st floor was destroyed, the traces left by the craftsmen (marks and dates) offer valuable clues on the construction methods and actors of the time. The location, noted as 'passable' in the databases, corresponds to the historic address of the city centre, close to the old trading and market places.

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