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Origin and history

The house of Richelieu, located at numbers 4 and 6 rue Étienne-Dolet in Bagneux, was built around 1630 for Pierre Bénicourt (or Bignicourt), entrepreneur of the Armies and armies of France and close to Cardinal de Richelieu. This quintaillier, also the king's armorer, would have used this house for secret conferences, or even to eliminate embarrassing witnesses according to persistent legends. The building, of classic style, initially had a two-winged central body surrounding a square courtyard, but after 1870 retained only the north wing, with its two-flyed central staircase and a partially original ramp.

In 1665, after the death of Benicourt, the property was divided: the house was sold to Jean Goupil, secretary of the king, while the southern part was owned by François de Lantage. In the 18th century, General Barthélémy Thoynard de Jouy acquired the estate in 1733, fueling rumours about Richelieu's "forgetts" after the discovery of a well containing bones and objects. These accounts, although disputed, marked the long-term history of the place, associating the house with the cardinal's obscure practices.

In the 19th century, the building underwent major changes, losing much of its original structure. In 1946, the municipality of Bagneux purchased the property to become a kindergarten, decommissioned in 2001. Excavations in 2004 revealed 17th-century painted ceilings, rare in the Paris region, depicting patterns of fruit, flowers and rinceaux inspired by Renaissance models. These discoveries led to the classification of facades, roofs and ceilings in 2006, after that of the sundial (1975) and the statue Venus and Cupid (1938).

The adjacent park, open to the public over 18,000 m2, preserves centuries-old trees and remains of sculptures, including a sundial unique in the world, carved in a block of local limestone before 1718. The caves of rock and most of the statues (such as Mars and Vulcan, destroyed at the Revolution) have disappeared, but elements such as pilasters and bas-reliefs still bear witness to its past fascist. Today, the house houses the House of Music and Dance, mixing historical heritage and cultural life.

The archives also mention illustrious owners, such as Antoine Grimaldi, Duke of Valentinois and future Prince of Monaco (1696-1704), or Louis Armand de Labriffe, cousin of Madame de Pompadour. The legend of "forgetts" reappeared in 1984 with the discovery of a well filled in the park, but no tangible evidence confirmed the stories of the 18th century. The site, a communal property, remains a symbol of the political intrigues of the Great Century and the classical architecture of the francilian.

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