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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The prison of Beaulieu, located in Caen, finds its origins in a leprosy founded in 1161 by Henry II of England on the road to Bayeux. It was transformed into a house of force for beggars and prostitutes in 1696 and became a beggars depot in 1769 under the intendant François-Jean Orceau de Fontette. The institution, which had not been completed for lack of funds, also served as a prison for prisoners by letter of seal and mentally ill until 1820, when they were transferred to the Good Savior.

In 1817 Beaulieu was officially designated as a central house of detention. Between 1820 and 1851, architects Jean-Baptiste Harou-Romain and his son Nicolas reconstructed the prison according to an orthogonal plan: four square wings, a central chapel, and pavilions of angle. The large dormitories, originally planned for 800 inmates, were replaced by cells after the fire of 1842. The prison, reserved for prisoners from 1873, was partially destroyed during the Battle of Caen in 1944, then rebuilt in the form of a U.

The 19th-century building, the only vestige of the original prison, was listed as a historical monument in 1975. Since 1975, it has been accommodating prisoners sentenced to long sentences, with a capacity of 438 places. In 2000, a Regional Medical Psychological Service (RPMS) was added. His well-known inmates include Patrick Henry and André Pauletto, who died in 2016 after 50 years of imprisonment.

The architecture of Beaulieu, marked by mirrors and a square enclosure, reflects the prison principles of the 19th century. The plans, designed by the Harou-Romain, inspired the standards of the arrest houses of the time. Today, the prison remains a symbol of the French prison system, combining historical heritage and contemporary function.

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