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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The house Royer-Granthille, located in Châlons-en-Champagne near the church of Saint-Aplin, illustrates the traditional shawl architecture with its wooden panels, typical until the end of the 19th century. Sponsored by Louis-François Gargam, treasurer of France, it was inhabited in 1773, but its present physiognomy resulted from major transformations after 1860.

Victor Royer, acquirer in 1860, undertook a complete restoration over ten years, adding a winter garden and an interior decor inspired by the 17th and 18th centuries. The Ganthille family, a Lorrainen industrialist specializing in wallpaper, became owner in 1888 and expanded the site with a second winter garden, metal gates, and a renovated guard house.

The two verandas retain their vegetal stained glass, mosaic floors, and separate coverings: a glass window for the first, a vault with a trompe-l'oeil for the second. Inside, rooms such as the smoking room, the dining room, or the Moorish boudoir have an eclectic decor (glass, stained glass, wrought iron), reflecting the tastes of successive owners.

Registered as a Historic Monument in 2007, the house protects its facades, roofs, winter gardens, and remarkable interior elements such as the 18th century stairway. Today, it is privately owned and houses a restaurant, perpetuating its link with the Châlonese social life.

The building embodies the transition between medieval housing in wooden panels and industrial influences of the 19th century, while at the same time demonstrating the role of local elites (treasurers, industrialists) in the transformation of urban heritage. Its inscription underlines the value of this architectural and decorative blend unique in the Great East.

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