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Origin and history

The Foubert Tower, also known as the House of Tabagia, was a fortified tower located in the Old Towers, at 3 Boucicaut Street and 6-8 Jerusalem Street. Built probably in the late 12th or early 13th century, its architectural style (broken arches, semi-engaged capitals) suggests a medieval origin. Its thick walls of 1.66 m could indicate a defensive function, although its exact role remains uncertain: hypotheses of an advanced defence for the enclosure of Châteauneuf or of a construction by the inhabitants opposed to the chapter of Saint Martin, without formal proof. In 1323 she entered the possessions of the collegiate Saint-Martin.

Redeveloped as a home in the seventeenth century, the tower takes the name of House of Tabagia after sheltering a game of palm. It then belonged to the fief of Sainte-Maure and was sold as national property on 5 December 1791. At that time, it had three floors on the ground floor, but its initial height was perhaps higher. Its carved wooden staircase, dating back to the 17th century and adorned with the arms of Saint Martin, is remarkable. This start of stairs, still visible on the ground floor before its demolition, was inscribed in the historic monuments on 1 June 1948.

The Foubert Tower was demolished in 1958 after a partial collapse, linked to the urban redevelopment of its islet. These works also led to the disappearance of the rue Boucicaut (former rue des Toads), bordering the monument. The wooden staircase, partially preserved, is now exposed at the Cluny hotel in Paris. Its destruction, which took place without prior archaeological study, led to the loss of a major testimony of medieval and classical architecture of Tours.

Historical sources differ on its exact origin. According to Monumentum, it, together with the Pucelle Tower, was an advanced defence work for the Brignole Gate in the enclosure of Châteauneuf. However, this hypothesis is contested, as is that of a strong or seigneurial house linked to the fief of Saint-Maure. The ground plans of 1749 already refer to it as the House of Tabagia, confirming its residential and social use in the 18th century.

Architecturally, the tower had a square plan with facades decorated with blind arches with four shapes in broken arches, falling back on columns with leafy capitals. These stylistic elements, typical of the Roman-Gothic transition, reinforce the hypothesis of a construction around the 12th–13th centuries. Subsequent redevelopments, including the addition of a staircase in the 17th century, reflect its adaptation to domestic needs, far from its presumptive initial defensive vocation.

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