On the territory of the Regional Natural Park of Causses du Quercy, the hamlet of Saint-Michel de Cours, which makes up the town of Bellefont – La Rauze (Cours), holds a rural building emblematic of the terroir, in this case a barn-stable dating from the end of the 15th century. Indeed, a dendrochronological study of its framework evaluates its construction at the end of the Middle Ages; of its five farms in place, four are made of cut wood and implemented around 1490 (only the fourth farm and a curved crossbowman are dated to the 18th century). Thus, the structure of this building is representative of an ancient technique, called «cruck» or «curved frame», where are used long pieces of bent or angled wood (called crossbowmen) on which rest the purlins bearing the cover. Descending in a single line from the ridge to the base of the walls, the crossbowmen rest on stone supports embedded in the masonry. The assembly being ensured by a small transverse part arranged under the ridge and wh

Address
Cours, 46090 Bellefont-La Rauze, Lot, Occitanie, France