First floor ladders – a disappearing sight in Touraine

The sight of a ladder propped up to a first floor mansard window or entrance used to be a typical sight in Touraine, when houses didn't have internal staircases and a wooden ladder was the only way to access the storage space above the living quarters. As houses are renovated to include internal staircases, this is becoming a rarer sight. These two examples come from Céré-la-Ronde.