Villefranche
de Lonchat town hall resides in a former ‘maison de maître’ in
the village square. The
house, built mid-nineteenth century (between 1845 and 1855) is a
huge cube with 18m long side walls built of freestone and a high
slate roof surrounded by a balustrade and flanked by two small
zinc-roofed turrets one of which houses a spiral staircase. The
exterior of the building and the entrance hall and staircase
have been listed on the
Supplementary Inventory of Historical Monuments since June 2002.
Town Hall Entrance
The building has two main façades :
the southern and western walls which each have five windows and
a central projecting part in which is situated the entrance door
and, above it, a walled balcony. Both facades are decorated with
ornate late-Renaissance carvings of a high quality. The northern
face has seven windows. The outbuildings, which are of an
equally high standard, join the eastern wall of the house. Very
attractive railings surround the property which includes a
garden, some of whose terraces still exist.
Many of the interior features and
the original layout have been preserved.
• Ground floor : to the front of the house are two large rooms
with parquet flooring, fireplaces, panelling and stucco ceilings.
The imitation marble decoration of two columns separating the
entrance hall from another hall has been preserved. The second
hallway leads onto two smaller rooms and the kitchens as well as
to the stone staircase with its iron railings. The staircase
goes up to the first floor and then on the second floor is
replaced by the spiral staircase leading up to the roof.
• First floor : six large bedrooms with parquet floors and a
considerable amount of the original decor and woodwork. A huge
landing, supported by four columns leads onto the bedrooms. The
first floor is, today, mainly used to house the museum of local
history.
• Second floor : Four large rooms with beautiful, exposed roof
timbers which could be converted. The spiral staircase joining
the landing to the roof terrace.
