Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Old house of Sireuil, located in the village of Sireuil in Charente, is an 18th century building built on the initiative of Jean Tabuteau, bourgeois and local lord. In 1784 he made it his home, building the house on older foundations, including an underground-refugee potential under the cellars. After the Revolution, the building became a presbytery, before being transformed into a town hall at the end of the 20th century.

The house, registered as a historic monument in 1964 for its facades, roofs and terraces, underwent architectural changes in the 1960s. The original triangular pediment was replaced by a window, and the balustrade was dismantled and then raised. These works altered its initial appearance, while preserving elements such as monumental staircase stone balusters and 18th-century wooden interior chimneys.

Architecturally, the house is distinguished by its rectangular body and its wing in return, with a main facade decorated with a terrace and a double central staircase. To the west, a secondary staircase once led to a French garden, now moved in front of the facade. The building also houses a bust of Pierre-Émile Martin, Mayor of Sireuil and inventor of Martin steels, highlighting its link to local industrial history.

Close to the church of the village and the castle of the Fâ, the house illustrates the evolution of the uses of a seigneurial building, moving from private residence to a public role. Its inscription as a historic monument bears witness to its heritage value, despite the transformations experienced over the centuries.

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