Maison à pans de bois

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 existence of a house on a long plot enclosed by walls bordered by the Thérain is attested in the archives since 1560. Property of wealthy cloth merchants for several generations, it progresses from agricultural activity (livestock rearing, orchard, viticulture) to use as a secondary residence. Demolished in 1590 along with a large part of the Saint-Jacques suburb for military reasons during the Wars of Religion, it was rebuilt at the very beginning of the 17th century. Its structure follows the evolution of its successive uses, with the addition - according to the periods - of stables and barns as well as a dovecote and a poultry house. Part of these ancillary dwellings were transformed, during the 18th and 19th centuries, into residences. The three parts of the current house could thus date from three different periods. The oldest, at the corner of rue Odet-de-Châtillon, could have a cellar and foundations from the 17th century, resulting from reconstructions after the demolition of the Saint-Jacques district. Its elevations, like the central house, could have been restored at the very end of the 18th century after a period of relative abandonment of the building between 1750 and 1790. Finally, the house at the corner of rue Saint-Jacques is presumably later, attested in its current configuration since the 1870s. These three residential units are homogenized by their mixed construction with a timber framing structure and wattle and daub infill on a foundation of flint, stone and brick rubble stone. While the rear facade on the street, originally giving directly onto the cemetery of the church of Saint-Jacques de Richebourg, is relatively simple and standardized with long timbers, end posts, single wall plates and framework with regular panelling, the garden facade is adorned with motifs of braces and chevrons which elegantly highlight the bays. Timber framing is the device most frequently used in constructions up to the 19th century in Beauvais. To the wealthy multi-storey houses with jetties and sculpted decoration of the town within the walls, correspond the lower and more modest timber-framed houses with gardens of the Saint-Jacques suburb, whose activities are linked to viticulture and textiles.