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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former Capuchin convent, located at Château-Thierry in Aisne (Hauts-de-France), was founded in the early seventeenth century after the agreement of the Capuchin provincial chapter in 1609. The chapel, consecrated in 1626 by the bishop of Soissons Simon Legras, marks the completion of the convent buildings, organized in a regular U-shaped plan around a courtyard. Two circular brick and stone pavilions frame the north entrance, reflecting a modest but emblematic architecture of the religious ensembles of the time.

Sold as national property in 1790 after the abolition of religious congregations, the convent changed hands several times: bought by Louis Marie Marion Brillantais, then divided between Pierre-Charles-Anselme Péchart and Nicolas Goix before being reconstituted by Louis Huvier in 1802. In the 19th century, it houses a cotton mill, becomes a private home, and is then rented to the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1891, adding a new wing (today destroyed).

In 1907, the commune acquired the place to install the Collège Jean de La Fontaine, transformed into a high school until 1974. During the First World War, the site hosted an auxiliary military hospital (HA No. 35) run by the Society for the Relief of the Wounded. Ranked a historical monument in 1988 for its facades, roofs, chapels and entrance pavilions, it now embodies 350 years of local educational and religious history.

The architecture mixes limestone and sandstone bells, with a unique nave vaulted chapel and buildings on one floor. The wing added at the end of the 19th century, of alternating brick and stone, contrasts with the sobriety of original structures. The convent also illustrates the transition from ecclesiastical goods to secular uses after the Revolution, while maintaining a heritage value linked to its founder, the Count of Saint-Pol, whose heart rests in the chapel.

Threatened by plans to renovate the existing college (Jean-Racine), the site remains an archaeological testimony of the post-tridentine convents and the Castrotheodoric urban planning. His story, documented by Tony Legendre, highlights his central role in education and collective memory, from the Old Regime to the present day.

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