History

The land plot at No. 6 Farna Street was probably delineated when the layout of the old town was determined in the 14th century. It was shorter then and extended up to the city walls. When they were pulled down, the land plot was extended to Zamurowa Street. The present-day front townhouse was probably built at that time too. It was erected on older walls, probably dating to the 17th century. However, it has as yet not been possible to establish the precise date of its construction due to the lack of archaeological and architectural research.

Description

The townhouse is situated within the Old Town, in the quarter between the streets: Farna, Zamkowa, Zamurowa and Starowarszawska. It is included in the continuously built-up western frontage of Farna Street. Inside the land plot, at No. 6 Zamurowa Street, there is an outbuilding with a coach gateway, which provides access to the yard of the townhouse.

The building is not representative of any style. There is a cellar under the front suite of rooms.

The building follows a floor plan resembling a rectangle. It is two-bay, with a hallway along the extreme axis, along the southern wall of the building.

The cellars of the building are made from solid ceramic bricks and fieldstones, laid with lime mortar. The walls of the above-ground storeys are made from solid, ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar in a block pattern. The walls were plastered inside and outside with lime mortar.

Above the cellars, there are barrel vaults with lunettes (created by being pierced in a bricked-up section), made from solid ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar.

The ceilings are made from wooden beams with a soffit, smoothly plastered with lime mortar using reed mat as a base. The wooden roof truss has a rafter-purlin structure. The purlins are based on the walls of the attic. The roof ridge of the gable roof is parallel to Farna street. In each slope, there are two gabled wall dormers. The roofs are covered with bituminous felt on a timber deck.

In the cellar, there is a daub floor. On the ground and first floors, there are plank floors on joists, partially covered with PVC or terracotta flooring. The balcony platforms are made from planks, supported on cast iron corbels (western elevation) and metal double-t beams (east elevation). The metal balustrades of the balconies are made from bars and flat bars.

The one-flight, masonry stairs leading to the cellars were constructed from bricks and fieldstones. The stairs leading to the first floor are single-flight, straight, made of brick, with sandstone treads, a wooden railing made from turned balusters and a wooden, profiled handrail. The hallway in the southern part of the building contains stairs.

In the western elevation on the ground floor, there are display windows, permanently fixed, in metal frames, barred. On the first floor and on the ground floor of the eastern elevation, there are wooden, jambed, double windows, with a tiltable top fanlight. On the first floor of the eastern elevation, there are PCV windows. In the wall dormers, there are wooden, jambed windows.

The entrance door in the western elevation leads to the hallway. It is wooden, two-wing and frame-panelled, with a glazed transom light.

The elevations are not adorned with any architectural details. In the western elevation, there is a similar door leading to the hallway, with a blacksmith lock. The second door in the western elevation is metal, one-wing, glazed at the top, barred. On the first floor, there is a two-wing porte-fenêtre window, with a transom light.

The western elevation – front, two-storey, with four axes on the ground floor and three on the first floor. Set on a low plinth. All the openings are rectangular. On the ground floor, on the extreme axis and on the third axis from the south, there is a door preceded by a single step. The ground floor is topped with a profiled cornice. On the axes on the first floor, there is a balcony door and a balcony. On the other axes, there are window openings. Under the windows, there are sills formed by sections of profiled cornice. The elevation is crowned with a profiled under-eaves cornice. Above, there are wall dormers in the slope of the roof.

The eastern elevation is two-storey and three-axial. All the openings are rectangular. On the central and northern axes, there are window openings. On the southern axis, there is a door to the hallway and on the first floor - a balcony door. Above, there is a small window. The elevation is crowned with an eaves cornice.

Private property. The building can be viewed from outside.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 4 May 2020

Bibliography

• Pietrzak J., Record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, 1997, Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Warsaw
• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski – Kielce 1984.