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Origin and history

The Hotel Morel, dit Pichon-Longueville or Hotel Montméjan, is an 18th-century mansion located at 9 rue Poquelin-Molière in Bordeaux, in the Saint-Christoly district. It is next door to the Hotel de Pichon-Longueville, located at 1 Poquelin-Molière Street. This building, registered as historical monuments since March 22, 1930, bears witness to the Bordeaux architecture of the first half of the eighteenth century, before the influence of Jacques Gabriel.

The hotel was built between 1727 and 1730 for Jean Morel-Rigaudie, receiver of the sizes for the Condomois and the Bazadais. He acquired the land in 1727, formerly occupied by a game of palm which had welcomed Molière's troops in 1656 and suffered a fire in 1716. Morel-Rigaudie has built a hotel serving both housing and office for the perception of sizes.

The hotel's architecture is remarkable, with a body of U-shaped buildings around a courtyard. The wings, surmounted by Mansart roofs, frame a terrace lined with a wrought iron balcony bearing the initials MR (Morel-Rigaudie). The cochère door, decorated with mascarons and sculptures, as well as its chiseled bumper attributed to the artisans Jayler or Darroux, illustrate the know-how of Bordeaux from the 18th century.

Inside, the staircase with its wrought iron ramp is a major work of Bordeaux ironworks of the time. The hotel then passed into the hands of several owners, including the sons of Morel-Rigaudie, J.B. Boubée de Brouchens, and the Baron of Cursol in 1837. In the 20th century, it changed hands several times, remaining a private property.

Rue Poquelin-Molière, where the hotel is located, is one of the oldest in Bordeaux. From the beginning of the 18th century, it houses aristocratic hotels. The hotel door, dated 1722 by a wrought iron hammer, and its decorative elements reflect the prestige of its first occupants, linked to the royal administration and the Bordeaux nobility.

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