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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The convent of the Cordeliers of Lectoure, founded at the end of the 15th century, was attested in 1487. It included a church, cloister, large house and garden, located between the common house (future grain hall) and the College of Doctrinaires. In 1695 the community had five fathers, one brother and one novice, with a Cordelier serving as confessor to the neighbouring Carmelites. At the time of the Revolution, his property was sold as national property, and the church, later bought by the city, briefly served as a place for grain before welcoming a prison from 1826 to 1926.

The church, facing north-south, was 40 metres long and had high walls with walled windows and fire. Its Gothic portal, decorated with fantastic foliage and animal capitals, was modified in the 19th century by the addition of a thick wall and a prison door. The nave, partially preserved, was home to a murated rose and a broken bow replaced by a arch in the middle of the prison building. After 1926, the site was occupied by the Red Cross, then a youth house, before becoming private property.

Conventual buildings and cloister have disappeared, leaving visible only the degraded gate, National Street. The vestiges of the church and the old prison, classified in 1999, bear witness to this dual religious and prison history. The site illustrates the urban transformations of Lectoure, between medieval heritage, modern reuses and late heritage preservation.

The prison, built in 1825-1826 in the nave, was a sober but neat building, with arches and a wooden staircase. It worked a century before being disused. The back of the nave was used as a courtyard, while the entrance lay on the old wall. This place reflects architectural adaptations related to the 19th century prison needs.

Historical sources, such as the drawings by Eugene Camoreyt, show the evolution of the portal, including the disappearance of the original eardrum and the addition of a common window. The nave, probably covered in frame (except the vaulted choir), retains traces of its religious use, despite subsequent modifications. Today, these remains offer a rare testimony of Lectoure's religious and judicial history.

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