Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Baillardière Manor House, located in Berthenay (Indre-et-Loire), is a historic monument listed on August 29, 1947. It is distinguished by its composite structure, combining the 15th century remains of brick and stone with a major reconstruction in the 17th century. The main house body, flanked by two wings in return for square, incorporates ancient elements, especially in the east wing, where traces of medieval buildings remain. This wing also houses a chapel decorated with a painted ceiling dated 1636, divided into compartments with various decorations, as well as a 17th century staircase with carved balusters, two elements protected by the 1947 decree.

The original, partially preserved genthommière bears witness to the architectural evolution of the site, where the additions of the seventeenth century preserved certain structural elements of the fifteenth century. East wing, perpendicular to the main body, illustrates this superposition of the epochs, with facades mixing stone and brick. The mansion, although modified, thus preserves tangible traces of its medieval past, while reflecting the aesthetic cannons of the Great Century, notably through its interior decorations and monumental staircase.

The inscription of historic monuments in 1947 allowed to protect specifically the ceiling of the chapel and stairway, highlighting their exceptional heritage value. These elements, precisely dated, offer an overview of the artistic and craft techniques of the seventeenth century, while the whole mansion, with its successive recompositions, embodies the local history of the Touraine and its built heritage, marked by the transitions between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

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