Tour Foubert (ou Fulbert) , ou Maison de la Tabagie
MonumentHidden Treasure
A medieval sentinel in the heart of Tours, the Foubert Tower has stood with its pointed arches since the 12th century, a striking vestige of the Châteauneuf walls converted into a Baroque residence.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Hidden away in the urban fabric of Tours, the Tour Foubert - or Tour Fulbert - is one of those discreet monuments that conceal centuries of history in their silent stones. Erected in the 12th century as an advanced defensive structure for the Châteauneuf enclosure, it formed, along with the Tour des Pucelles further to the north, a defensive system protecting the Porte de l'Écrignole, one of the key entrances to this canonical quarter linked to the prestigious collegiate church of Saint-Martin. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1948, this gateway alone embodies the overlapping ages that make up the richness of Touraine's heritage. What sets the Foubert Tower apart from the mass of medieval remains is precisely the legibility of its architectural transformation. In a single building, the military rigour of the 12th century - a strict square plan, thick walls and a three-storey elevation - coexist with the ornamental grace of the 17th century, when the chapter of Saint-Martin transformed the fortress into a dwelling house. The addition of an eastern section housing a staircase with straight wooden banisters, the start of which is adorned with a sumptuous scroll carved with foliage, palms and a medallion topped with a cross, bears witness to the decorative ambitions of the canons of Tours. A visit to the Foubert Tower is like looking directly into the stone. The blind arcatures on the third floor, with their four pointed arches resting on columns with leafy capitals, are a rare and precious example of late Romanesque architecture in an urban setting. These sculpted elements, both functional and decorative, are a reminder that even twelfth-century military structures were not exempt from aesthetic research. The setting in which the tower is set plays a key role in its heritage appeal. The old town of Tours, with its half-timbered houses, cobbled streets and the tutelary shadow of the nearby Saint-Martin basilica, forms a coherent setting for this vestige. History buffs will appreciate the stratification of powers - military, religious and civil - that have shaped the city over the centuries.
Architecture
The Foubert Tower has a square plan typical of 12th-century Romanesque defensive structures, with three storeys above the ground floor. Although the tower was originally higher - its current height is probably the result of successive demolitions or damage - it still has an imposing massing that bears witness to its original military role. The thick walls, built of tuffeau stone, the soft limestone so characteristic of Touraine, give the building the thermal inertia and robustness that have seen it through the centuries. The most remarkable architectural feature is the blind arcature that adorns the third floor of each façade. This decoration, consisting of four pointed arches resting on columns with capitals carved with foliage, is an eloquent example of late Romanesque ornamentation applied to a building designed for defensive purposes. The quality of the carving on the capitals, with their stylised plant motifs, brings the tower into line with the sculpture workshops that were active around the collegiate church of Saint-Martin in the 12th century. These purely decorative arcatures reveal the desire to give a military structure a formal dignity worthy of its ecclesiastical patron. The 17th-century transformation introduced a different, but not without quality, architectural grammar. The eastern wing, which was lighter in construction, housed an interior staircase with straight wooden banisters, the banister of which is a typical example of Baroque woodwork from the first half of the 17th century in Touraine: a scroll at the top sculpted with interlaced foliage, palms and a medallion topped by a cross. This heraldic motif, undoubtedly designed to house the coat of arms of the Saint-Martin chapter, lends the ensemble a refined elegance that contrasts with the severity of the medieval tower.
Related Figures
Chanoines du chapitre de Saint-Martin de Tours (commanditaires présumés de la tour au XIIe siècle et de la réhabilitation au XVIIe siècle)Saint Martin de Tours (figure tutélaire de la collégiale à laquelle la tour était administrativement liée)Charles VII (roi de France dont le règne à Tours coïncida avec la période de reconstruction post-guerre de Cent Ans affectant le quartier)Louis XI (roi ayant séjourné à Tours et entretenu des liens étroits avec la collégiale Saint-Martin, influençant indirectement la gestion des biens du chapitre)
