Gouin Dwelling:
This dwelling is today an archaeological museum
Just observing the windows we can imagine all the beauty of building. It was built in the XVth by a rich bourgoies. During the XVI th a silk trader decided to buy it and he decided to modify it façade. This dwelling is the 1st Renaissance building in Tours.
I say it is a Renaissance style because, the owner tried to make a symmetric façade (even if it was difficult because the dwelling was already built) with a fore part more important and he used semi circular arches, mullion windows as you can see at the top, he played with openings and closures. In front of the dwelling, there is a courtyard with some trees... And he used a typical renaissance decoration. We can observe dormer windows at the top, he used foliated scrolls patterns, flowers patterns. Also, we can see pinnacles with crockets and a finials and at the corners candelabras.
This dwelling is named Gouin dwelling because during the XVIII th a rich banker buy it.
Jean Briçonnet dwelling
This dwelling belonged to Jean Briçonnet. Jean Briçonnet was the 1st mayor of Tours but also the 1st mayor of France in 1462. This post was inaugurated by the French king Louis the XI th. This dwelling was built in the XV th, it is made up of 3 parts, on your left, you can see a long tower, with the staircase inside, the central part with the dwelling, and on your right a beautiful corbelling corner turret decorated at its lower part by a lief pattern. We can underline its door, with a beautiful ogee arch.
Now we are getting into the former medieval district of the city, there are always the cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses... and it's not without its charm.
Here we are in Exchange Street. Its name remembers that the St Martin monks could mint coins, that's why there were many money changers here. It was a very dynamic street, because many pilgrims but also many traders came here to exchange their money. It remains some half timbered houses that show us the wealth of the district.
We can observe this house: 3 rue de la Rotisserie
It is a very beautiful half timbered house, it belonged to a rich changer, banker because it is a imposing house and its owner could decorate 2 façades, a gable façade and a side wall façade., so its owner was very wealthy. Moreover, we can notice different sculptures on the façade as a devil and other mythological creatures at the corner or little sculpted head around the windows on the 1st floor. But also sculpted corner post: all the characters lost their head but we can recognize men and women who must be pilgrims.
I would add that on this house, we don't really see the wood (except in the corner post) because the owner hid wood with slates. The slates protect the wood from rain for example. Here we see clearly the slate on the wood, the slates are added on the wood. We can compare this with the next house, for example here you see a St Andrew Cross in wood, and here it is in slate. The rest of this house made by wattle and daub.
And now we can observe this house: 2 rue du change
As the previous house, this house has got 2 façades, so the owner was wealthy but here all the façade is covered with slates, so we don't have ornamental pattern but we have slates a wealth symbol. This house was very protected by rain or waste water.
This house is named “changer house”, of course because of its situation at the corner of Changer street and Money Street. Obviously its name comes from the activity of the district. It dates from the XV
This house kept beautiful corner post we have the Saint Family, that is to say, the child Jesus with his parents Mary and Joseph.
On the right you have a pilgrim with its purse and around windows you have pilgrims with theirs strikes. These sculptures show one of the activity of the district, the pilgrimage.
Plumereau Square
Welcome in the famous square of Tours, Plumereau square, or nicknamed “Plum'” by inhabitants. As you can see, this square is a pedestrian area, and it is surrounded above all by XV half timbered houses and by stone houses.
Here you can see a square inside Plumereau square because until the XIX there were houses here, inside this square and one of the houses belonged to Charles Plumereau ( a town councillor) that's why this square is named Plumereau Square.
But before the destruction of these houses, the square had different names. At the beginning it was named “St Peter Carroi” (carroi is a public square) because of St Peter The Puellier Church just here, and from the XIII c it was named “Hat Carroi”, “Hat Square” because fresh flowers to decorate hats were sold here. During the Middle Ages this square with Foire Le Roy Square were very dynamic sites. But Plumereau Square was all the more dynamic that it was connected with Exchange Street, Money Street and here Market Street... so there were many different people here,many pilgrims, many shops, much trade... And this brought many incomes to St Martin Abbey and to Chateauneuf District so this district competed with Colbert and Cathedral districts.
To conclude with Plumereau square, he have to know that this square was restored in the sixties thanks to a French Law, “Malraux Law”. This law protects historic centre. This square was the 1st example of this kind of restoration, and it is a succeed example.
