Maison, 8 rue du Jerzual, Medieval house in Dinan, France

Maison at 8 rue du Jerzual is a narrow medieval townhouse built into the slope of the street, which drops steeply from the town centre toward the port of Dinan. Its street front is carried on a stone ground floor, with timber-framed upper storeys jettied out over the roadway and a steep roof above. The house was listed as a monument historique classé in 1961.

The house at 8 rue du Jerzual is dated to the 12th or 13th century, making it one of the oldest dwellings on the street that descends from Dinan's centre to the port on the Rance. It was inscribed as a classified monument historique in 1961, the highest level of protection under French heritage law, which covers both the building and its structural elements.

Rue du Jerzual was the main road down to the port of Dinan, and the house at number 8 belonged to the merchant and craft quarter that lined it. Look for the carved wooden corbels under the upper floor, a detail of local joinery rather than stone carving. The street's steep slope shaped how the ground floors were used, with workshops and shops facing the roadway.

This building sits along rue du Jerzual, a street lined with other preserved medieval structures worth exploring. Walking through this area allows you to see multiple examples of the same period and better understand the local building traditions.

Look for the carved corbels under the upper storey on the street side; they carry the overhang of the timber-framed upper floor above the stone ground level. The junction between the two builds is visible as a change in wall plane and material, a detail easy to miss when walking down rue du Jerzual.