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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Brunet du Boccage hotel is a mansion built in the first half of the 17th century in Cognac, in the Charente department. Its name comes from the Brunet family of the Boccage, a notable local who ordered its construction. Although the interior has been completely redesigned, the street façade has retained its original appearance, offering a typical example of the transition architecture between the Henry IV and Louis XIII styles.

The facade is distinguished by its elevation to three floors, its regular piercing of bays and a sober but elegant ornamentation. Window frames feature long stone links, interspersed with smaller chains carved on the surface. On the second floor, the bays are overlaid with flats crowned with pots, while gargoyles and ground consoles animate the cornice. The entrance door, in the middle of the hanger, contrasts with its more heavy decor: columns with bosses, frieze carved with foliage and entably salient adorned with imposing pots of fire.

Ranked a Historic Monument by order of 25 July 1973 for its facade and roof, the hotel belonged in the 18th century to the Augier family, related to the Brunet du Boccage. Today, it is owned by a private company. Its exact address, 4 rue Saulnier, and its state of conservation make it a valuable testimony of the 17th century Cognac civil architecture.

Available sources, including the Merimée and Monumentum bases, highlight its heritage interest, although its precise location is considered poor (note 5/10). The building, closed to the public, retains historical and aesthetic value despite the interior transformations.

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