Lyon Ainay, Maison Gaillard

Gaillard House, where the poet Victor de Laprade lived (died 1883), is remarkable: a beautiful example of smooth frames that extend beneath the banner and are framed by two moulded consoles, a staircase tower in the courtyard to allow as much space as possible for the apartments, oval turret masonry, English-style steps to begin with then floating steps (a staircase is said to be English when you see the extremities of the steps as they can support themselves alone; in a French staircase the extremities are hidden and kept in a shaft).