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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hotel de l'Intendance de La Rochelle was built in the 18th century to house the intendant of generality after the separation of the posts of intendant of the Navy and generality in 1717. Initially installed in a rented house rue Fleuriau, which had become insufficient, the intendant Jérôme Bignon de Blanzy had in 1729 acquired a large house on Rue Juiverie (present-day rue Pernelle), transformed into an official hotel. This building, forming an island between the streets of Pernelle, Fromentin, Aufrédy and Venette, was enlarged between 1730 and 1759 by several architects and engineers, including Gilles Nassivet, Dié Gendrier and Matthieu Hue, in order to regularize its disposition.

The portal, created in 1730 by entrepreneur Bonnichon and sculptor Antoine III Ragon, marks the entrance to the hotel. Inside, the intendant's wing houses a wooden staircase with wrought iron ramp, while that of the intendant has a stone and wood staircase. The rooms, such as the courtroom or the intendant's chamber, are decorated with carved woodwork and rock panelling. After the Revolution, the hotel served as a prefecture and then as a gendarmerie before being dismembered by a private owner in the 19th century. Ranked a historic monument in 1925 for its portal, it retains remarkable architectural elements despite subsequent changes.

The facades, structured by flat bands and vertical spans, feature carved rock-style stapled bays. The cellars, vaulted in stone, support the building. Although partially modified, notably by the sculpting of Bégon's weapons in the 19th century, the hotel bears witness to the administrative importance of La Rochelle under the Ancien Régime. Its garden and south wing, protected in 2010, now complement the remains of this exceptional civil heritage.

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