Manoir de la Tannerie
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de la Tannerie, located in Courcelles-de-Touraine (Indre-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Manor
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Courcelles-de-Touraine, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4820, 0.3136
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00097715
A discreet 15th-century jewel nestling in Touraine, the Manoir de la Tannerie boasts a polygonal tower with wooden screws and a hooded fireplace adorned with enigmatic murals.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
In the heart of the Loire Valley, the land of manor houses and dream castles, the Manoir de la Tannerie in Courcelles-de-Touraine embodies the refined sobriety of seigneurial architecture in the late Middle Ages. Far from the ostentatious magnificence of the great royal residences of the Loire, it offers an intimate and authentic insight into what rural noble life was like at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. What immediately sets the building apart is the elegant polygonal tower flanking its southern façade. A true architectural signature of the late Gothic period, this turret houses a beautifully crafted wooden spiral staircase, a precious testimony to medieval carpentry. The staircase, which is in a relatively rare state of preservation, is a reminder that Touraine craftsmen excelled in both carpentry and stone-cutting. The interior holds an even more unusual surprise: the large room on the first floor has a hooded fireplace, the mantel of which, supported by simple moulded brackets, still bears the ghostly traces of a pictorial decoration. These paintings, whose precise iconography is now illegible, are all the more fascinating for that: they evoke an era when the interiors of the lordships shone with bright colours, and invite visitors to engage in an imaginative exercise in reconstruction. The manor house is an ideal stop-off point for lovers of discreet heritage, those who prefer the byways to the tourist motorways. Its sober silhouette, undoubtedly surrounded by farm outbuildings and a walled garden, is set in the gently undulating landscape of northern Touraine, between vineyards and hedged farmland. It's a refreshing stop-off for those in search of pure heritage emotion.
Architecture
The manor house at La Tannerie has a compact, vertical layout typical of rural manor houses in the late Middle Ages in Touraine: a main building with a ground floor, a first floor and a habitable attic. This vertical layout, on a modest footprint, maximises living space while asserting the dignity of the residence through its size. The most remarkable architectural feature is undoubtedly the polygonal tower attached to the southern façade. Typical of late flamboyant Gothic architecture in its freestanding form, it houses a finely-crafted wooden spiral staircase - a notable choice at a time when stone spiral staircases were the seigneurial standard, suggesting either an economic constraint or a desire to make the most of local craftsmanship. The faces of the tower are punctuated by light mouldings, and its probable pepperpot or pavilion roof gives it a picturesque silhouette. Inside, the first-floor room features a beautifully crafted hooded fireplace: its jambs are crowned with moulded brackets supporting the mantel, an elegant construction feature that reflects the influence of the Touraine workshops of the late 15th century. The traces of polychrome still visible on this mantle are an exceptional example of medieval interior decoration, where architectural surfaces were often decorated with heraldic, floral or narrative motifs. The materials used were probably tufa stone for the sculpted elements, a soft blonde stone emblematic of Touraine construction, and rubble stone for the regular masonry.
Related Figures
Seigneur inconnu commanditaire (seconde moitié XVe siècle) — probable petit noble ou bourgeois aisé, bâtisseur du manoirArtisans charpentiers tourangeaux du XVe siècle — auteurs de l'escalier à vis en bois de la tour polygonaleInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1948) — responsables de la reconnaissance et de la protection officielle du manoir
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de la Tannerie located?
Manoir de la Tannerie is located in Courcelles-de-Touraine, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Manoir de la Tannerie built?
Manoir de la Tannerie dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de la Tannerie open to visitors?
Manoir de la Tannerie is currently closed to visitors.