Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former Commanderie des Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem in Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny found its origins in the early 12th century. Around 1135, Henri I Beauclerc, king of England and Duke of Normandy, founded this commandary on the parish of Saultchevreuil, accompanying its creation by the establishment of a "new city" – the present-day Villedieu-les-Poêles. Unlike other hospitals in the region, which are focused on agriculture, this commissionory derives its income from bank furnaces, mill, rights of justice and royalties, intended to finance the activities of knights in the East. The city quickly enjoys urban privileges, promoting its economic growth through markets and fairs.

The primitive buildings, erected in the middle of the 12th century, suffered partial destruction during the Hundred Years War. They were rebuilt before 1457, as evidenced by the Order's accounts and a plan of 1740. The house of the commander, flanked by stables and the chapel Saint-Blaise, forms a coherent whole. This chapel, already unused in 1679 and transformed into a barn in 1784, was partially ruined in 1845. After the Revolution, the premises were acquired by a local edile and converted into a dwelling: the house was remodeled, a second house was added in 1831, and the old chapel, rebuilt, became an outbuilding while retaining elements of the 15th century.

The original spatial organization reveals a functional arrangement: to the west, the house of the chaplain, with a fire room overlooking a cellar, seems to date from the 15th century. Subsequent transformations, especially in the 19th century, partially altered the medieval structure, but some remains (such as those of the chapel) attest to its hospitable past. The inscription in the Historical Monuments in 2021 protects today the land base of this complex, located at 3 and 9 rue du Pont Chignon, marking its heritage importance despite successive changes.

External links