Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The houses with beams in the North-Agenas form a rare architectural complex, built between the last quarter of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. These houses, identified from 1971 by François Fray and the Association des Amis du Pastourais, are concentrated around the cantons of Villeréal and Castillonnès, with a diffusion towards Issigeac and Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Their built-up technique in squared logs reflects adaptation to local resources in a forest-marked area. Their late discovery is explained by their geographical isolation and their discreet integration into the rural landscape.

The name "stack houses" comes from researchers of the 20th century, including François Fray, who popularized this term in his works. Jules Momméja, since 1903, had compared these constructions with Scandinavian models, highlighting their originality in France. This type of architecture, although present in other regions (such as the Savoy or the Dauphiné), does not have the same name: it is then referred to as "buildings in room-on-piece", borrowed from Canadian vocabulary. Their specificity lies in their technique of crept boards with grooves and tabs, assembled without nails or mortars.

Their construction is part of a post-war historical context of Hundred Years (after 1453), a period when the Agenas and the Périgord, devastated by conflict and plague, were replenished thanks to migratory waves coming from the Central Massif (Rouergue, Quercy, Auvergne) and the Poitou. Local lords and abbots offered land to clear in exchange for the construction of a house, thus promoting the settlement of these families. These houses, often associated with barns, illustrate vernacular architecture related to reconstruction and agriculture.

Seven of these houses were classified or listed as historic monuments between 1991 and 1992, including two in Sainte-Sabine-Born: the house of Saint-Germain (classified) and the house and barn of the Jouandis (classified). These protections underline their ethnological and archaeological interest, especially for their seniority and rarity. A dendrochronological study confirmed their dating between 1475 and 1525, making valuable witnesses of late medieval rural habitat.

The houses of Sainte-Sabine-Born are distinguished by their mixed structure: some combine wooden panels, filling in stacked boards, and masonry (mellons). Their rectangular plan, their stone base, and their tenon-mortaise assemblies reveal sophisticated craftsmanship. The Jouandi House, classified in 1996, even includes an adjacent barn, showing the integration of living and working spaces. These buildings, although transformed in the 19th century, retain remarkable original elements.

Their preservation is part of a broader approach to valuing the aquitaine rural heritage, often unknown. The work of researchers such as François Fray, Pierre Deffontaines, or Christian Lassé has documented these constructions, while highlighting their links with other European traditions (Norway, Canada). Today, they constitute an identity marker of the North-Agenas, between Périgord and Guyenne, and a tangible testimony of the dynamics of repopulation after medieval crises.

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