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Origin and history

The convent of the Carmelites of Moulins was founded in 1350-1352 thanks to a donation of land by Jean Rousseau dit Michiel, a local bourgeois, and to the financial support of Pierre I of Bourbon and Goussaut of Thoury. Originally built outside the ramparts, near a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Pitié, it was looted twice by Anglo-bourguignon troops (1384 and 1411), then rebuilt in the 15th century. The church, first placed under the name of St Stephen, later became the present St Peter's church.

In 1562 the Huguenots besieging Moulins destroyed the convent and transformed the church into a stable. Reconstructed in the 17th century in a classic style (black diamond brick facade, monumental portal with ionic pilasters), it was abandoned in 1790 during the expulsion of the Carmelites. At the Restoration, the church became parish under the name of Saint Peter. The remains of the convent, including the cloister and brick wings, were inscribed in the Historic Monuments in 1971.

The architecture of the site is distinguished by its preau bordered with bays in full hanger, its cubic pillars with doric capitals, and a cornice with superimposed flat-bands. The south façade, decorated with black brick diamond, and the bossed gate reflect the classic 17th century influence. East wing, extension of the church choir, dominates the adjacent house body. The convent once occupied a vast quadrilateral bounded by St.Martin's streets, Delorme, and St. Joseph's Hospital.

Today, the protected remains (Cadastre P 25) include elements from the 16th–15th centuries, bearing witness to successive reconstructions. Owned by the commune of Moulins, the site retains a heritage value linked to the religious history of Bourbonnais, marked by conflicts (the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion) and architectural reconstructions.

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