Maison
MonumentHidden Treasure
A jewel of Touraine's civil Gothic style, this 15th-century timber-framed house retains its corner posts sculpted with cherubs, a rare example of medieval bourgeois elegance in the heart of Tours.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Turning down a street in the old town of Tours, this medieval timber-framed house stands out as one of the most intact examples of Gothic civil architecture in the Loire. With a ground floor and three upper storeys - the last of which is in the attic - its silhouette is typical of prosperous 15th-century urban dwellings, where verticality meets the constraints of the medieval plot structure. What makes this house truly singular is the survival of its corner posts, several of which still display their sculpted ornamentation: finely chiselled cherubs' heads that testify to the care taken to embellish facades, even in buildings that were essentially residential. At a time when Tours was one of the most active cities in the kingdom, and a favourite residence of the last Valois, such a profusion of decoration was by no means trivial. The visit is as much about discovering these sculpted details as it is about immersing yourself in the medieval urban fabric that the city has managed to preserve. The façade, with its half-timbered layout and successive corbels that extend into the street at each level, is a perfect illustration of the constructional rules of late Gothic carpentry, both functional and aesthetic. If you put this apparently modest house, rich in detail, on your walking list, you'll be giving yourself an open-air lesson in architectural history, far from the crowds that flock to the great cathedrals. For lovers of authentic heritage, this kind of discovery is often the highlight of a stay in Touraine.
Architecture
The structure of the house is typical of late medieval Gothic civil carpentry: a timber frame - vertical posts, horizontal runners, oblique reliefs - forming the load-bearing framework, filled with light masonry. The elevation comprises a ground floor, probably once occupied by a shop or workshop opening onto the street, followed by three storeys, the last of which is housed in the attic space, lit by dormer windows. The most remarkable feature are the corner posts, which stabilise the structure where the façades meet. Several of them have retained their carved decoration of cherub heads - cherubs with chubby faces and outstretched wings, a motif dear to late Gothic and early Renaissance iconography. This type of ornamentation, which was relatively costly because it required the work of a qualified sculptor, testifies to the social status of the patron and the vitality of the Touraine craft industry at the time. The facade is organised according to the principle of progressive corbelling: each storey projects slightly over the lower one, making it possible to increase the living area while protecting the base from the elements. The windows, which have probably been altered over the centuries, are set in regular bays. The overall composition is sober but balanced, representative of the best of medieval bourgeois construction in the Loire Valley.
Related Figures
Artisans charpentiers tourangeaux du XVe siècle (bâtisseurs anonymes de la maison)Sculpteurs anonymes des têtes d'angelots (ateliers locaux, seconde moitié du XVe siècle)Louis XI (roi de France, résidant fréquemment à Tours, dont le règne 1461-1483 correspond à la période de construction)Charles VIII (roi de France, né à Amboise en 1470, dont la cour anima Tours en cette fin de siècle)Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription en 1946)
