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Origin and history

The Bon Pasteur Barracks, also known as the Bon Pasteur Hotel, is a building located 5 rue Martenot in Rennes, opposite the square of La Motte. Built in 1749 on the site of a former pleasure house called "Maison de Belair", it was originally designed to accommodate a convent of repentant girls, run by the Congregation of the Girls of the Good Shepherd. The main building housed on the ground floor a chapel, a choir for the nuns and a refectory, while the floors served as dormitories and workshop. An additional wing, built in 1770 and now extinct, completed the whole with a washhouse, kitchen, infirmary and dormitory for penitents.

At the time of the Revolution, the site was transformed into a prison for women suspected of counter-revolution, and then for inserment priests. From 1821 to 1956 he served as a military barracks, during which time he was restored in 1835 by architect Louis Richelot. After various administrative uses, the building was acquired in 1981 by the Brittany Regional Council, which carried out major restoration work. Its facades and roofs have been protected as historical monuments since 1971.

On the architectural level, the building features a ground floor on cellars, two square floors and a high floor illuminated by wooden windows. The main façade, divided into 11 spans, is distinguished by an alternation of bays in full hanger on the first floor, three of which open onto wrought iron balconies. The levels are separated by granite bands, and elevation is organized into three groups of spans: five in the centre and three at each end.

The history of the building dates back to 1718, when Jeanne of the Temple bought a 16th or 17th century house to found the convent. According to the sources, as early as 1721 the congregation had a temporary chapel, a house and a workshop. The site, used as a military prison in the 19th century, also housed the council of war in the old chapel. After 1956, he was reassigned to administrative uses before his acquisition by the Region.

The architectural descriptions highlight the harmony between the sober facade and decorative elements such as wrought iron balconies. The restoration of 1835, linked to the layout of the Promenade de la Motte, reflects the adaptations of the building to its successive uses. Today, it reflects the evolution of urban functions, from religious to military, then administrative, while maintaining its heritage identity.

The sources also mention minor inconsistencies in the dates of construction, some referring to 1718 for the acquisition of land and 1749 for the construction of the main building. The wing in return of square, built in 1770 and now extinct, illustrates the transformations undergone by the site over the centuries, between extensions and partial demolitions.

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