Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The wooden house at 57 rue du Grand-Marché in Tours, dated the 15th century, is a remarkable example of medieval civil architecture. Built on three floors with a ground floor, it features a first floor in corbelling, a common technique to gain space in the city. Its two gables reveal a frame with curved aisseliers forming broken arches, while the east facade is covered with d'ardoises, materials typical of the region.

Classified as a Historic Monument, this house was partially protected by order of 7 September 1946, covering its eastern and southern facades and roof. Its exact address, confirmed by the Mérimée base, is located in the historic centre of Tours, a city marked by a rich medieval and reborn heritage. The accuracy of its location is estimated as "a priori satisfactory" (note 6/10), although the approximate GPS coordinates suggest a nearby address at 15 Rue du Petit Saint-Martin.

The building illustrates the wood-pan construction techniques used in the 15th century, when Tours, then a prosperous city thanks to the river trade on the Loire, saw the development of a dense and structured habitat. These houses, often narrow and high, reflected both urban constraints and the social status of their wealthy owners, bourgeois or artisans. Their preservation today offers a tangible testimony of daily life in the Loire Valley at the end of the Middle Ages.

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