Maison « Rocaille »

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The "rocaille house" stood, at the beginning of the 20th century, within the enclosure of the General Materials Warehouse belonging to Madame widow E. Bourdier. Installed opposite Guéret station, this enterprise supplied building materials: wood, ceramics, cement. This advertisement house was thus intended to promote the art of rocaille and the skills of Creuse craftsmen. After the First World War, the buildings of the enterprise were sold. Léonard Daraud installed an agricultural products business there, then his son C. Daraud an automobile garage (Garage Terminus, Peugeot agency). The whole was sold again in 1999. The rocaille house is no longer occupied today and has lost the carpentry work that closed the two openings on the ground floor. The construction of a building and a new enclosure wall on the avenue have largely replaced the original enclosure, consisting of cement elements, on avenue Gambetta, of which only a few elements remain.

Description

The rocaille house stands within a set of buildings defining a courtyard used for parking at the end of avenue Gambetta which opens onto the station forecourt. It occupies the centre of the south-west part of the ensemble. Of rectangular plan, it rises over three storeys plus one of roof space lit by a central dormer. The hipped roof is covered with slate and pierced by roof lights on each slope. The right bay of the main façade is treated as a recessed and overhanging section. Built in reinforced cement, its main façade presents an applied decoration executed in rocaille imitating wood (trunks, bark); the south-east gable wall presents a decoration of false ashlar. To the left of the main façade, the external lateral staircase serving the storeys is executed using the same technique: ramp and balustrade of the landing, wall of the staircase. On the ground floor, the carpentry work of the two openings has disappeared and has not been replaced. The gaping openings are now used as a garage. The first floor is lit by two large windows; the second is emphasised by a balcony and lit by three French windows. The original carpentry work has been preserved. The glazed frames of the large windows and of the central French window of the second floor have also retained coloured and engraved glass panes. The floors are in cement or parquet flooring in various woods.