Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil
MonumentHidden Treasure
Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil, located in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil (Dordogne), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.9394, 1.0742
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082554
A discreet jewel from the Périgord region in the 19th century, this pigeon house in Sireuil features a dormer window with a solar pediment, pyramidions and a cornice with a mantelpiece designed for carrier pigeons.
History
In the heart of the Périgord Noir, in the commune of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, lies a building that is so far outside the usual categories that it is hard to describe: neither really a dovecote, nor quite a garden pavilion, this small 19th-century building embodies a certain bourgeois lifestyle typical of the French countryside at the time. Nestling at the corner of an enclosure extending from the main house, it reveals a surprising wealth of ornamentation for its modest size. What makes this building truly unique is the care taken with its architectural details. The dormer window on the south side, with its curves and counter-curves in a late Baroque style, bears a circular pediment decorated with a sculpted sun - a rare, sunny motif that gives the building an almost symbolic dimension, like an invitation to meditation or rest. The pyramidions topping the gables add to the silhouette's distinctive character in the Vézère landscape. The listel and cavet cornice that encircles the top of the building is more than just an ornament: it was a functional walkway for pigeons, an ingenious combination of the useful and the decorative. To the east, a door opens directly onto the upstairs pigeon house, which used to be accessible by a simple ladder - a detail that recalls the original agricultural purpose of this space. To visit this pavilion is to plunge into the intimacy of rural life in the Périgord in the 19th century. It's easy to imagine the master of the house retiring here in the evening, seeking a little solitude just a few steps from the family home, under the slate roof that tinkles softly in the rain. For lovers of vernacular heritage, small-scale architecture and social history, this building, which has been protected since 1982, is an invaluable discovery, far from the crowds invading the nearby prehistoric caves.
Architecture
The rectangular pavilion-dovecote at Sireuil has two clearly distinct levels: a ground floor for the owner's retreat, and an upper floor for the pigeons. This functional superposition is made possible by a meticulous design that never sacrifices aesthetics for utility. The most spectacular feature of the building is undoubtedly the dormer window on the south facade, whose curves and counter-curves evoke a late Baroque vocabulary. Its circular pediment adorned with a sculpted sun is a rare iconographic signature, charged with solar and perhaps Masonic symbolism, in tune with the spiritual sensibilities of the cultivated bourgeoisie of the 19th century. Two cornices are superimposed over the height of the building: the first, formed by a listel and a cavet, runs around the building and was used as a pigeon walk; the second, which is higher, directly supports the roof. To the east, this cornice is interrupted by a door giving access to the pigeon room, which used to be reached by a removable ladder. The roof of lauzes - local limestone slabs typical of the Périgord and Quercy regions - gives the building its most typically regional silhouette. The gables are topped with pyramidions, small pyramidal masses that enliven the ridge line and betray a discreet neoclassical influence. Built of blonde Vézère limestone, the ensemble blends harmoniously into its planted setting, while at the same time asserting an architectural presence worthy of a true pleasure pavilion.
Related Figures
Le propriétaire anonyme du XIXe siècle — bourgeois périgourdin qui fit construire ce pavillon comme lieu de retraite personnelleAndré Malraux — ministre des Affaires culturelles ayant lancé l'Inventaire général du patrimoine, cadre dans lequel ce monument fut étudiéLes artisans carriers et tailleurs de pierre locaux — maîtres des lauzes et du calcaire de la Vézère
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil located?
Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil is located in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil built?
Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil open to visitors?
Pavillon avec pigeonnier à Sireuil is currently closed to visitors.