Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Belliard barracks, located in Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée department, were designed in 1720 by the engineer Claude Masse, but its construction did not start until 1750 under Louis XV. The project, financed by the city through grant rights and a loan, was entrusted to the architect Parent of Curzon. The works, marked by changes of entrepreneurs (Mauchet, Alexandre Hiou, then Charles Fonteneau), were completed in 1768 with the installation of the Royal Bourgogne regiment. The stables and expansions of the 19th century, such as the lift depot (1839-1914), completed the whole.

The building, made of limestone stone and cut stone for the forebody, features a courtyard of honour framed by low-roofed mansard buildings. The stables, covered with flat tiles, were added between 1841 and 1843. The barracks, renamed in tribute to General Belliard (born in Fontenay), were occupied by the Germans during World War II, then converted to an industrial site (SEITA) before returning to a military vocation in the 1950s. Ranked a historic monument in 1929, it was renovated in 2020 to become a residence.

Among the artisans involved are the sculptor Héricart, the locksmith Jean-Baptiste Trutteau, and the curator Louis Perdreau. Degradations by soldiers in 1776 required repairs led by Parent de Curzon. In the 19th century, architect Auguste Garnereau supervised the addition of new stables. The site, disused by the army in 2008, illustrates the evolution of military and civilian uses of an architectural heritage marked by its local and national history.

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