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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Hotel Le Pays de Bourjolly, located on 3 rue de l'Escale in La Rochelle, is a building built mainly in the 18th century, with major alterations in the 19th century. It was listed as a historic monument in 1965 and is distinguished by a slightly elongated square courtyard and a facade decorated with ionic pilasters. Its architecture, atypical for the region, suggests reconstruction or profound transformations in the 19th century, perhaps by the Cadoret family, owners of the time. The decorative elements combine antiquisant and neo-gothic influences, as evidenced by the garden door.

Historical sources mention a first hotel built in the early eighteenth century for the Bourjolly family, but the current building could be a later reconstruction. The second floor, probably dating back to 1830, and the floor of the building, added before 1890, illustrate these developments. The inscription to the historical monuments in 1965 specifically concerns the facades on street and courtyard, the corresponding roofs, as well as the floor of the courtyard. The recent analysis of the building reveals an original plan, perhaps designed by an architect outside La Rochelle, although there is no documentary evidence to confirm it.

The hotel is characterized by a bossy base on the ground floor, with curved bays, while the second floor skylights are surmounted by curved frontons. Despite its consistent appearance, the building is considered an architectural pastiche, combining varied styles without clear historical unity. Restoration work clarified this hypothesis, highlighting the role of 19th-century owners in its transformation. Today, there remains a testimony of the eclectic tastes of this period, while preserving traces of its aristocratic origin.

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