Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house Le Maréchal, classified as a Historic Monument in 1996, is located in the heart of the island of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, accessible from Cayssac street by a door and a staircase leading directly to the first floor. This 13th century building illustrates the gradual densification of medieval urban centres, with ground floor dedicated to commercial or artisanal uses. The north facade, now on a lane probably closed in the 16th century, originally retained two perfectly preserved geminous bays, as well as traces of false-crafted wall decorations. A remarkable feature is its torchi-burdened pan-wood bulkhead, the second best-known example in the region, whose system of vertical holds and tones and mortise assemblies is unique to date.

The structure consists of two housing bodies in square, including a cellar, two residential floors and an attic. Originally, the house covered an alley, and its large room on the first floor, equipped with a monumental fireplace (demolished in the 19th century), was divided by hanging hangings with still visible notches. The groined windows, decorated with vegetal decorations and cushions, as well as a beam added in the 16th century to strengthen the ceiling, testify to successive architectural developments. Dendrochronological analyses point to the construction around 1270, with wood felled between 1265 and 1270, suggesting a potential sponsor, Guillaume de Laporte, mentioned in an act of 1272.

The eastern wing was partially annexed before 1295, then extended in 1344 by the addition of a shop overlooking the Buoc Square. A master beam, dated between 1440 and 1469, was later incorporated to consolidate the ceiling of the first floor. The house represents an exceptional archaeological deposit for the study of medieval houses, revealing construction techniques, interior arrangements (latrines, smoking room) and a spatial organization characteristic of the urban dwellings of the period. Its right staircase, capitals and rope marks for hangings offer a rare glimpse of daily life in the Middle Ages.

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