Maison des Trois Nourrices, house in Narbonne, France

The Maison des Trois Nourrices stands at the corner of Rue des Trois Nourrices and Rue Edgar Quinet in Narbonne. Its corner carries carved figures supporting a projecting balcony above a moulded cornice, and the upper storey has a square window framed by carved pilasters and a decorative frieze. The base storey is rougher stone with tall dark openings, and a plaque on the corner gives the street name.

Built around the 12th century as a commercial building with shops on the ground floor and dwellings above, the house was remodelled in Renaissance style around 1558 for the Guissane family, whose members served as consuls of Narbonne. It was classified as a monument historique in 1913 and restored in 2005-2006 with support from the Fondation du Crédit agricole - Pays de France.

The name "Trois Nourrices" (Three Nurses) was given by analogy with the nearby Hôtel des Trois Rois, which has since disappeared. The five caryatids form the uprights and mullions of one of the two Renaissance cross windows added around 1558, when the house belonged to the Guissane family, several of whose members were consuls of Narbonne.

The house stands at the corner of Rue des Trois Nourrices and Rue Edgar Quinet, a short walk from the Basilique Saint-Paul-Serge. It is a private building, so visitors see the carved corner figures and the Renaissance window from the street. The corner plaque with the street name helps locate it in the narrow lanes.

The name does not refer to the carved figures: it echoes the Hôtel des Trois Rois, a now-vanished inn nearby, and was given by analogy. The five caryatids frame one of the two Renaissance cross-windows added around 1558, forming its uprights and mullions.