Nord Pas de Calais Longeres - Traditional Architecture

Longeres in Nord Pas de Calais are obviously houses made from bricks. Longere is without doubt a very charming and incredibly sought-after type of house found in the North of France. Buying such a Nord Pas de Calais house is possible and still affordable as they are generally very pleasant traditional French houses, with a simple, clever architecture.

The longère is one of the most typical French property types. It is predominantly a rural property type found in all departments of Nord Pas de Calais even if not always referred to under this name. It is traditionally built in a rectangular shape. The name itself means rectangular shape in French. In Nord Pas de Calais you will find many longeres with walls made of bricks.

• Similarily to other traditional properties in France, regional materials were often used to build a Longere. Thus bricks and stones are typically used in the construction of Longeres in Nord Pas de Calais.
• Many longères only offer single-storey accommodation. The attic is often converted into a first floor accommodation to increase the total living area available. Originally, the stairs used to access that attic were located outside the main part of the traditional Nord Pas de Calais Longere house to save a considerable amount of space inside the house.
• Longeres often have flat tiles roofs in Nord Pas de Calais while in other French regions thatched roofs are widespread. Thus they melt the length of the longeres with the particular style given by the use of bricks and flat tiles.

• The particularity of Longères is that all the outbuildings are laid out in a row. Thus there is no real farmyard or courtyard area in front of the house. This is a common feature that distinguishes the Longere from most other rural farm dwellings found in France.