Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Grand Priory of Aquitaine, also called Hotel des Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem, found its origins in Poitiers from 1317, after the dissolution of the Order of the Temple. His property was then transferred to the Hospitallers, who established a priory there. This site became one of the three major priories of the order in France, alongside those of Champagne and France. The present monument, built in the seventeenth century, preserves traces of this medieval history, especially in its northern gable dating from the late fifteenth century.

The monumental gate, erected in 1667 under the great prior Gilbert of Vieilbourg (1663–72), is a major testimony of this period. Ornate with bosses and sculptures, he bears the coat of arms and the name of his sponsor. This portal, registered to historical monuments since 1944, marks the original entrance to the Grand-Rue. Behind him, the main house, completed the same year, houses a remarkable structure, vaulted rooms, and an archive room added around 1730 to preserve the titles of the priory.

The hotel was sold as a national good during the Revolution, and his last great prior, Louis des Escotais, left the place during the Terror before dying soon afterwards. In the 19th century, the site was fragmented: the southern communes were sold in 1880, and subsequent constructions altered access through Montgautier Street. In 1988, facades, roofs, stairways, wells and archives were also classified, thus preserving part of this hospital heritage.

Today, the Grand Priory consists of several private properties. Its portal, still visible on the Grand-Rue, contrasts with the current access through the Montgautier street courtyard. Architectural remains, such as the vaulted tank or partitioned rooms, recall its past as a prior residence and administrative center for the order of Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem in Aquitaine.

The site thus illustrates the transformations of a religious monument into a civil heritage, marked by the vagaries of history, from medieval commandery to contemporary division. Its listing in the inventory of historical monuments makes it a privileged witness to the hospital heritage in Poitou.

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