Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré, located in Romorantin-Lanthenay (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Romorantin-Lanthenay, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3587, 1.7461
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098554
In the heart of Romorantin, the Carroir Doré dazzles with its carved corner posts — Saint Michael slaying the dragon, the Annunciation — testaments to a flamboyant Gothic art of rare finesse.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Standing at one of the busiest crossroads in Romorantin-Lanthenay, the Carroir Doré is one of the rare examples of a medieval timber-framed house still standing in the Sologne, where stone readily gives way to carved oak and the ingenuity of carpenters. Its name evokes a past splendour: the golden lead roofs that made this corner of the street shimmer in the Loire sunshine, attracting the eye and comment of passers-by and merchants alike. What immediately sets the building apart is the exceptional sculptural quality of its corner posts. Far from being mere structural elements, they are transformed into a veritable iconographic programme: Saint Michael slaying the dragon, Saint John the Evangelist carrying the Mystic Lamb, the scene of the Annunciation... So many figures that reveal the piety and artistic ambition of their patron, at the crossroads of the Gothic and early Renaissance periods. Admittedly, the building has undergone major alterations: its corner turrets - one round, the other polygonal - have disappeared, and the original first floor has been replaced by a gabled roof. But the surviving quoins bear witness to the original silhouette of the house, and the posts adorned with finely profiled bases, rings and capitals bring back to the imagination all the richness of the Carroir Doré complex. To visit the Carroir Doré is to cross an invisible threshold between the present and the end of the 15th century, when Romorantin was a thriving royal city, frequented by the Valois and criss-crossed by the splendours of the travelling court. The half-timbered façade is best viewed from the adjacent square, when the low-angled morning or evening light reveals the depth of the sculpted relief. The fact that it was listed as a Historic Monument in 1910 is testimony to the early recognition of its heritage value. The Carroir Doré is part of a coherent itinerary with the other Renaissance residences in Romorantin, a town which, under François I, almost became the royal capital of France.
Architecture
The Carroir Doré house belongs to the great tradition of timber-framed buildings in the Loire, characterised by an exposed oak structure with cob or brick infill providing insulation. Built on a rectangular plan, it originally had two storeys with corner turrets - one circular, the other polygonal - giving the building a lively, hierarchical silhouette, typical of the large middle-class residences of the late 15th century. These turrets have now disappeared, but their spandrels, i.e. the timbers that joined the wall to the turret, are still visible in the preserved structure. The most remarkable feature is undoubtedly the sculptural treatment of the corner posts, veritable wooden pillars worked like Gothic columns: moulded bases with complex profiles, intermediate rings marking the height, and capitals with stylised foliage or geometric motifs characteristic of the Gothic-Renaissance transition. At the top of these posts are religious scenes in high relief of remarkable quality: Saint Michael slaying the dragon, a figure of the victory of good over evil that was very popular at the time; Saint John the Evangelist holding the Lamb of God; and the Annunciation, a Marian scene of great gentleness. These reliefs bear witness to a leading workshop of woodcarvers, active in the region at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The current gable roof replaces the former roof, which supported the famous gilded lead seals. Despite the alterations, the facade as a whole retains an undeniable visual harmony, with a play of projections and recesses that are elegantly emphasised by the sculpted posts, placing the house in the aesthetic continuity of Gothic town houses in the Loire Valley.
Related Figures
François Ier — roi de France dont la cour fréquentait Romorantin, ville qu'il envisagea de faire agrandir et embellirLouis XII — sous son règne débuta la floraison architecturale qui toucha Romorantin au tournant du XVIe siècleArtisans et charpentiers-sculpteurs anonymes de l'école ligérienne — auteurs des poteaux corniers sculptésCommanditaire bourgeois inconnu — probable marchand ou officier royal ayant fait construire la demeure vers 1500Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (début XXe s.) — à l'origine du classement de 1910, pionniers de la protection du patrimoine civil médiéval
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré located?
Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré is located in Romorantin-Lanthenay, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré built?
Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré open to visitors?
Maison en bois dite Le Carroir Doré, au Carroir Doré is currently closed to visitors.