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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The wooden house located 8 Place du Martray in La Roche-Derrian (now part of the commune of La Roche-Jaudy) is a 16th century house, representative of the Breton civil architecture of the Renaissance. Its wooden panel structure, partially masked by slates arranged in decorative motifs, comprises two floors in corbellation overlooking a ground floor formerly dedicated to trade. The second floor sandstone, molded and decorated with godrons inspired by Renaissance vocabulary, reflects the aesthetic changes of the 16th century. A recent restoration has made it possible to find the original structure of the facade, once entirely covered with slate according to the tastes of the eighteenth century.

Originally, the house probably housed a wealthy merchant, as evidenced by its central location on Martray Square and its spatial organization separating commercial areas (shop on the ground floor) and residential areas (top floors). The staircase in screw, joined to the east wall, served identical rooms on each level, with a fireplace per floor. The south gable opened on a courtyard with an addiction, perhaps a stable. In the 16th century, modifications added windows to the floors and enriched the decorations, while in the 18th century, slate coating replaced the apparent woodpan, also removing the original commercial metal.

The house has been partially classified as a Historic Monument since 20 January 1926, with limited protection on its façade. Its history reflects the architectural and social evolutions of La Roche-Derrian, a former Breton merchant city. The successive transformations — door piers, the modification of the bays, or the addition of a house near the sixteenth century — illustrate its adaptation to the needs of its occupants, while preserving remarkable Renaissance elements such as the godrons or the cross-frame of Saint Andrew.

Today, the house is distinguished by its mix of constructive techniques (wood, stone, slate) and its role in the built heritage of the Côtes-d'Armor. Although its official address is sometimes confused between No. 2 and No. 8 of the Martray Square, the sources (Merimée, Monumentum) agree on its importance as a witness to the urban habitat of Brittany between the Middle Ages and modern times. Its present state results from both contemporary restorations and visible historical strata, such as the initial central gate, moved laterally in the 18th century.

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