# Hôtel Plamon The oldest private mansion in Sarlat - **Place**: Sarlat-la-Canéda - **Address**: Rue des Consuls 24200 Sarlat-la-Canéda · Dordogne - **Period**: XIVᵉ–XVIIᵉ siècles - **Type**: Private mansion - **Protection**: Listed historic monument - **Mérimée record**: PA00082963 - **Coordinates**: 44.890482, 1.216084 Also known as the maison des Consuls, the Hôtel Plamon was built around 1330–1340 by the patrician d'Albusson family and remodelled through to the 17th century. Listed as early as 1889, it ranks among the finest medieval residences in Sarlat. ## History - **vers 1330–1340 — The construction** The patrician d'Albusson family had the mansion built. - **XIVᵉ siècle — The Gothic of the rue des Consuls** Pointed-arch openings on the ground floor, Gothic windows on the first floor. - **XVᵉ siècle — The second-floor windows** The second-floor bays were rebuilt in the 15th century. - **1473 — The Plamon family** The notary Guillaume Plamon bought the residence, which then took his name. - **XVIIᵉ siècle — The classical alterations** North wing, balustered staircase, trompe de Montpellier and a wrought-iron Louis XIII balcony. - **1950–1970 — Expropriation and restoration** Expropriated by the town in 1950, the mansion was restored by Yves-Marie Froidevaux until 1970. ## Figures - **Élie d'Albusson · attesté en 1298 · Consul of Sarlat** The d'Albusson family, who had the hôtel Plamon built, is one of the great patrician families of Sarlat. Élie d'Albusson is among the consuls who signed the Livre de la Paix (the Book of Peace) in 1298; it was his family that raised the building around 1330-1340. - **Guillaume Plamon · XVᵉ siècle · Notary** The hôtel owes its present name to the notary Guillaume Plamon, who bought it in 1473. The family's name became lastingly attached to the building. ## Places - **The grand balustered staircase · The 17th-century addition by King's Counsellor Pierre Tapinois** Opening onto an open courtyard, this grand stone staircase with 17th-century balustrade and balusters was commissioned by Pierre Tapinois, counsellor to the King and lieutenant of the perpetual mayor of Sarlat, as part of the same building campaign that produced the northern wing and the Montpellier squinch. It fits within the Louis XIII spirit that dominated the mansion's remodelling and is one of the few monumental 17th-century staircases preserved in Sarlat's town centre. This staircase was specifically named in the 1889 listing decree. - **The Montpellier squinch · A Louis XIII balcony carried by a feat of stonework** Added in the 17th century by Pierre Tapinois, this "Montpellier squinch" is a corner corbelled projection in the shape of a round tower, supporting a rounded wrought-iron balcony in the Louis XIII style. Diderot's Encyclopédie explicitly cites this type of squinch as a Montpellier invention, notable for the fact that it "rises twice the width of its centre". It is now one of the rare surviving examples of this device north of the Mediterranean. ## Key facts - **1330 — The oldest mansion in Sarlat** built around 1330–1340, its façade ranks among the town's finest of the 14th century. - **1473 — The purchase that gave it its name** the mansion owes its name to the notary Guillaume Plamon, who bought it that year. - **1889 — Among the first to be Listed** it is among the very first privately owned buildings to be protected in France. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why is it also called the maison des Consuls? The mansion was built around 1330-1340 by the d'Albusson family, one of Sarlat's leading consular families, on the street named after their office. The name Hôtel Plamon came later, from the notary Guillaume Plamon who bought it in 1473. ### How old is the Hôtel Plamon? The oldest part dates from the 1330s. The second-floor bays were rebuilt in the fifteenth century, and the north wing, the balustered staircase and the Montpellier squinch date from the seventeenth. ### What is the Montpellier squinch? A rounded corner corbel carrying a wrought-iron Louis XIII balcony, added in the seventeenth century by the King's Counsellor Pierre Tapinois. Diderot's Encyclopédie cites the device as a Montpellier invention, and few examples survive north of the Mediterranean. ### Can you go inside the Hôtel Plamon? The building belongs to the town, which expropriated it in 1950 and had it restored through to 1970. Its façade can be seen freely from the rue des Consuls, and the interior can be explored in the virtual tour on this page. ## Links - Full page: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/hotel-plamon - Town: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda - Reference: https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00082963 - Reference: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22988050 - Reference: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_Plamon_(Sarlat-la-Can%C3%A9da) --- Source: OPUS Heritage, https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/hotel-plamon. Content published by the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda.