Construction of prison 1852-1856 (≈ 1854)
Replacement of the castle of Angers by Ferdinand Lachese.
1896 et 1934
Executions by guillotine
Executions by guillotine 1896 et 1934 (≈ 1934)
In front of the prison's main entrance.
1944 (août)
German evacuation
German evacuation 1944 (août) (≈ 1944)
134 deportees taken before the Liberation.
1947 et 1949
Latest capital executions
Latest capital executions 1947 et 1949 (≈ 1949)
Two men in 1947, Germaine Leloy in 1949.
1997
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 1997 (≈ 1997)
Protection of cross buildings and rotunda.
2010
Prison expansion
Prison expansion 2010 (≈ 2010)
Added a semi-freedom centre.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Cross buildings around the rotunda (the three large wings and the small wing of the administrative building) and the rotunda (Box BP 169): inscription by order of 14 January 1997
Key figures
Ferdinand Lachèse - Departmental architect
Designer of the prison (1852-1856).
Chanoine Uzureau - Prison chaplain
From 1902 to 1948.
Germaine Leloy - Last female guillotine in France
Executed in 1949 in prison.
Origin and history
The Pre Pigeon arrest house, located in Angers in the Pays de la Loire, is a prison built between 1852 and 1856 under the direction of the departmental architect Ferdinand Lachese. It replaces the old prison facilities of the castle of Angers, considered inadequate. Inspired by the panoptic model, the building adopts a cross plan with four wings (three cells and one administrative) anchored to a central rotunda. This project is part of a 19th-century philanthropic trend aimed at improving prison conditions, although overpopulation is rapidly becoming a recurring problem (217 theoretical places for 370 prisoners in 2013).
The prison was the scene of capital executions, with the guillotine erected twice in front of its entrance (1896 and 1934), then in the inner court in 1947 for two death row prisoners. The last execution, that of Germaine Leloy in 1949, marks a rare fact: a woman guillotined in a male-only establishment. During the Second World War, the Germans interned and tortured resistance fighters before evacuating in August 1944, taking 134 deportees.
Classified as a Historical Monument in 1997 for its interior parts (cross and rotunda buildings), the prison was enlarged in 2010 with a semi-freedom centre. Today enclaved in the heart of Angers, it is considered obsolete because of its overpopulation and age. A proposed new 850-seat prison in Trelaze, planned for 2028, is to replace it, employing 525 people. Between 1902 and 1948, Canon Uzureau served as chaplain of the institution.
The prison's architecture, with its central surveillance post surmounted by a chapel and its entrance door in the shape of a chestnut, illustrates the prison principles of the 19th century. Its inscription in the Historic Monuments underscores its heritage value, despite the contemporary challenges associated with its use in prisons. The prison thus embodies both an architectural heritage and the tensions between historical memory and modern requirements of the prison system.
