Maison à pans de bois
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison à pans de bois, located in Chinon (Indre-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Chinon, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.1672, 0.2380
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00097678
On the corner of two Chinese streets, this medieval timber-framed house hides a secret from history beneath its slates: Joan of Arc is said to have set foot here during her triumphal entry into Chinon in 1429.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
In the heart of Chinon, a royal town in the Loire Valley nestling between tufa and slate, this timber-framed corner house discreetly embodies one of the most endearing silhouettes of Touraine's medieval civil architecture. Built in the 14th and 15th centuries, it belongs to the generation of bourgeois and merchant houses that punctuated the streets of Loire towns in the late Middle Ages, when carved wood and corbelling created a rare urban lacework. What makes this house truly unique is the memory it carries. Local tradition, carefully handed down from generation to generation, has it that Joan of Arc, arriving in Chinon in February 1429 to meet the Dauphin Charles, leaned on the curbstone of the well on the west side to get off her horse. A humble, almost insignificant gesture, but one that resonates with all the symbolism of that decisive moment when the 'Maid of Orleans' was to change the course of the Hundred Years' War. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1926, the building's façade is clad in slate - a cladding added over the centuries to protect the oak frame from the elements - which only allows the trained eye to make out the medieval framework concealed behind it. This superimposition of ages gives the building an enigmatic character, like an architectural palimpsest where each era has left its mark without entirely erasing the previous one. Walking along the street that runs alongside this house is like being carried through the layers of Chinon: the Gallo-Roman town, the royal city of the Plantagenets, the medieval town of bourgeois and merchants, and finally the Johannine city that saw the writing of one of the most romantic chapters in the history of France. The timber-framed house is a fragment of all this, modest in appearance but immense in resonance.
Architecture
The timber-framed house in Chinon belongs to the architectural vocabulary of the medieval urban dwelling of the Loire, characterised by a load-bearing oak frame whose elements - posts, runners, braces and eaves - form a geometric network visible on the façade. Situated on the corner of two streets, the building has two facades, which were originally used to display the quality of the carpentry on two fronts, affirming its owner's status in the public space. Today's appearance is markedly different from the original medieval state: both facades have been covered with slate scales or rhombuses, a cladding technique widely used in Touraine and Anjou to protect wooden structures from water infiltration. This cladding, which hides the framework while giving it a shimmering appearance in the light, has itself become a heritage feature in its own right. The ground floor was remodelled at an undetermined time, probably to create a shop or commercial premises, obliterating the original medieval layout. The roof, which has also been modified over time, probably no longer retains its original form - probably a steeply pitched roof covered in slate, typical of civil Gothic architecture in the Loire Valley. The structure of the upper levels has been better preserved, and the rhythm of the wooden bays can still be seen under the slate mantle, offering the attentive observer a layered view of several centuries of urban life in Chinon.
Related Figures
Jeanne d'Arc — héroïne nationale dont la tradition locale dit qu'elle s'appuya sur la margelle du puits de cette maison lors de son arrivée à Chinon en février 1429Charles VII — Dauphin de France que Jeanne vint rencontrer au château de Chinon en 1429, dont la venue avait transformé la ville en centre politique du royaumePropriétaire bourgeois anonyme du XIVe-XVe siècle — commanditaire présumé de la construction, probablement issu de la bourgeoisie marchande chinonaiseProsper Mérimée — inspecteur général des Monuments Historiques dont l'œuvre de recensement du patrimoine médiéval a préparé la voie à des protections comme celle de 1926
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison à pans de bois located?
Maison à pans de bois is located in Chinon, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Maison à pans de bois built?
Maison à pans de bois dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison à pans de bois open to visitors?
Maison à pans de bois is currently closed to visitors.