Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The houses located on Rue de la Rodade in Montferrand (now Clermont-Ferrand) date mainly from the 15th century for their ground floor and from the late 15th – early 16th century for their floors. Their alignment features five arched shopping bays in basket coves, decorated with prismatic mouldings based on similar bases. Four of these berries still retain their original decorations, while the one of the 15bis has lost its mouldings, probably destroyed. These openings were once home to missing vices, typical of medieval shops.

The fourth bay is distinguished by a wooden portal with two thick vantals, embellished by a wrought iron impactor in the shape of a ring and a lock plate in the heart. A coiled console adorns the upper part of the woodwork. On the first floor of n°17, a narrow cross-sectional window, rising above the arch of the ground floor, features a lintel and ground leggings, similar to those of commercial bays. With its salient support, a carved badge carries relief initials, a possible witness to a former owner or craftsman.

These houses were classified as Historic Monument by decree of 22 February 1954, protecting their facades on street and roof, as well as a narrow facade between numbers 17 and 19. Their architecture illustrates the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with careful decorative elements reflecting the commercial activity of Montferrand, then distinct town of Clermont before their fusion in 1630.

External links