Strong House

The strong houses usually appear at the 12th century and the 13th century. They are often located at the accesses of the boroughs, along main roads or at the border of a large seigniory. They belong to juniors, parents or allies of seigneuriales big families.

Not having territorial rights in the feudal structure, the owners of these strong houses often enjoy economic rights from where them positioning close to the fords and the passages, the mills and the production centres artisanal.

From a defensive point of view, they must be able to resist a few hours against a small troop.

Strong houses in the Ardennes

Hardoncelle, village integrated into the commune of Remilly-les-Pothées

Strong houses into Dauphine

The Dauphine , which belongs then to the Saint Empire Romain Germanique is an area rich in strong houses. One counts good about thirty it, all built before 1300 and according to same architecture: a round tower, surmounted of a conical roof, leant with a masonry rectangular, massive, with little openings, the covered whole of tiles punts or out of slates.

On Grenoble, the farmhouse of Châtelet, whose presence is attested by an act in 1312, still remains. Located on the way of Gières at a half mile of the enclosures in a vast marshy plain, the masonry slightly subsided towards the south, which makes it possible to notice it in spite of the multiple insults that it underwent.

To date construction from the strong houses, the tower should be observed. During the top the Middle Ages, they are square and of wood, then are out of stone. Towards 1200, the square ones, they become round, with archères or loopholes in all the directions, to observe and defend themselves. The windows also inform us, towards 1400 the openings increase, one seeks comfort, they with Meneaux or are crossed stone.

Today, they became restaurants, rooms of hosts, riding schools and, for much, they lost their authentic and primitive character.

Strong houses in Savoy

(Not-exhaustive List)

the Château of Pierrecharve on the commune of Mûres was originally, a strong house which controlled on the Chéran, the passage of a very old dismountable wood bridge in the event of invasion.
the Extremely the Lock on the commune of Léaz, was originally, a strong house, built in 1278 on the order of Amédée de Gex, to control the passage of the Défilé Lock and to take a right-of-way on the people and the goods taking this important road between the Bassin Lémanique and Bellegarde.
strong House Blain (XVe, classified), hamlet of Verthier, commune of Doussard.

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