Beaucaire, Languedoc-Roussillon 30300

A 16th-century house with 100 m surrounded by its verdant, 40-m courtyard in the centre of historic Beaucaire. Beaucaire's historic centre, designed with rectilinear streets like its medieval neighbour Aigues-Mortes, was once a military city. One of the few Provencal towns without protective outer ramparts, Beaucaire is structured around its main road and the quay of the Rhne-Ste canal - used as a home port for many boats - which play a key role in the town's undeniable character and charm. These two major east-west routes, which spread out from the base of the chateau, are traversed by a number of north-south roads that eventually meet up with the aforementioned quay.Completely hidden and set back from the street, the house, built at the end of the 16th century, has two storeys over its garden level and is located on one of the town's latitudinal streets, thereby sheltering it from the Mistral wind and other inclement weather. The only element visible from the street is a large carriage door surrounded by smooth rusticated stonework from the Fontvieille quarries and topped with an understated entablature. With a truncated corner indicating its former utilitarian usage, this entrance was once intended for the passage of tall and heavy loads, while its two vertical wooden leaves, painted grey and studded at eye level, are devoid of any kind of decoration, once again underlining the former functional purpose of the premises.The property's gate opens directly onto a courtyard, today transformed into a pleasant garden, which separates the house from the quiet street. In the Middle Ages, the property was undoubtedly the warehouse of a rich merchant from the famous local fair or the lord who owned the neighbouring house, Jean-Joseph Escudier de Beaulieu, an advisor to the King, Presiding Judge of Farms and the Lieutenant of Ports during the siege of Beaucaire. However, it wasn't until the late 19th century that the warehouse on the courtyard level was turned into a dwelling, while several earlier modifications, still visible upstairs, allows one to surmise that the domestic staff of the aforementioned lord once occupied the level above the medieval warehouse.