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Origin and history

The convent of the Ladies of Saint-Thomas of Saint-Germain-en-Laye finds its origins in a 17th century mansion, the Hotel de Soissons, built around 1660-1680 for Eugène Maurice de Soissons. This building, located on the plan of Caron in 1686, was transformed in 1698 into an institute of hospital ladies of Saint-Thomas-de-Villeneuve, on the initiative of Louis XIV. The institute, founded at the request of King James II of England in exile, had as its mission to educate the noble Irish and Scottish Catholic girls fleeing religious persecution in their countries.

The present chapel, by architect Antoine François Peyre, was erected in 1786 in a neoclassical style, with a stone-cut facade. The northeast building body was added at the end of the 18th century, while the northwest extensions probably date from the second half of the 19th century. The facade of the chapel, with a peristyle, was modified in the 19th century and classified as Historic Monument by decree of 23 July 1937. The site, now owned by an association, thus retains the traces of its dual heritage: an aristocratic hotel in the Great Century and a convent dedicated to welcoming exiles.

The institute illustrates the close links between the French monarchy and British Catholics in exile after the Glory Revolution (1688). Its architecture combines the influences of French classicism — visible in the chapel of Peyre — and the functional adaptations linked to its educational and religious vocation. The location at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a royal town near Versailles, strengthened its prestige and accessibility for foreign residents.

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