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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Blangy, also known as Hotel Marcotte, is a private hotel built in the early eighteenth century in the Saint John district of Caen. Commanded around 1710 by Pierre François Le Viconte, Baron de Blangy, he was erected by an architect named Blondel (unspecified). The building, made of Caen stone, is organized into three wings around a courtyard, with a large garden. Its facades and roofs, representative of classical urban architecture, have been listed as historical monuments since 2002. The living rooms on the first floor and the staircase, remarkable for their interior decoration (chinoiseries, allegorical paintings), have been classified since 2003.

The family Le Viconte de Blangy, of chivalry origin and close to the courtyard, kept the hotel until 1816. The sponsor's son and grandson were responsible for Cotentin's grand baili between 1756 and 1789. The Marquis de Blangy also participated in the States of the nobility of Caen in 1789 for the General States. The hotel then passed into the hands of several owners, including Madame Labbey de la Roque (1816) and the Marcotte family (1858), before being acquired in 1908 by the Caen charity office. Transformed into a dispensary, crèche and aerium, he suffered damage during the Battle of Caen in 1944.

The interior architecture is distinguished by its two living rooms on the first floor. The Grand Salon, decorated with Chineseware inspired by the Shanshui but adapted to French taste, presents six panels attributed to the workshops of the Martin brothers. These works, restored in 1970 and then in 2000, combine reliefs in paper pulp, gilding and painting under a characteristic varnish (Martin varnish). The allegorical decor, including paintings by Charles-Joseph Natoire and Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, celebrates the arts (History, Poetry, Painting). The staircase, with its wrought iron guard with interlaced motifs of "F" (for Blange), completes this classified set.

In the 20th century, the hotel lost part of its architectural unit. The street wing was destroyed in 1958 to build a retirement home (Victor Priout home), while the backyard building was demolished in 1970 for an administrative annex. Despite these modifications, the main house body retains its classic three-span facade, with a curved pediment and Mansart skylights. Subsequent reconstructions (1970s) attempt to partially harmonize with the original style, in particular with classical skylights on the new wing.

Today, the Blangy hotel remains the property of the CCAS in Caen. Although partially altered, it reflects the aristocratic art of living of the eighteenth century in Normandy, combining Oriental influences and French tradition. Its interior decorations, protected, offer a rare example of preserved Chineseware in situ, while its history reflects the social and urban changes of Caen, from the Ancien Régime to Reconstruction.

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