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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Doyenné House, located at 24-26 rue François-Péron in Moulins, is a mansion dating from the late 15th century. It replaces an earlier house of 1460, built for Jean Chauveau, bourgeois, and his brother Hugues, governor of the hospital Saint-Julien. The term dean comes from the 18th century, when three deans of the Feydeau family resided there. Its construction is attributed either to Nicolas Laubigeois, governor of finance of Duke John II of Bourbon, or to a member of the Chauveau family. Some historians, such as Achille Allier, suggest that it would have belonged to the Dukes of Bourbon, built at the same time as the college.

The courtyard façade, classified as a historical monument in 1938, illustrates the flamboyant architecture of the late Middle Ages. It features a stair tower with cut-pans, carved motifs (lamps, cabbages, centaur), and sled windows once surmounted by triangular pediments. A gargoyle wears the alchemical symbol of the dry tree, while a carved stone depicting a character showing his foot ("remove me a thorn") is now preserved at the Anne-de-Beaujeu Museum. These elements recall the Jacques-Cœur de Bourges Palace, both in style and period.

In the 18th century, the street façade was transformed, losing its original arcades and sculptures. The ironmaker Jean-Baptiste Paradis, a resident of the house, reportedly realized the window supports. Inside, remains a fireplace decorated with lily flowers and arms of Louis II of Bourbon, moved in 1902 to the Dukes' Castle before being preserved at the Anne-de-Beaujeu Museum. The wing in return, perhaps former Treasury Chamber, and the wrought iron shaft complete the protected elements.

Today the private property, the house is visited on request via the Devaux bookshop (located on the ground floor) or during the Heritage Days. Its present state combines medieval traces and modifications of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, testifying to its evolution throughout the epochs. The comparison with the Jacques-Cœur Palace underlines its importance in the bourbonese architecture of the nascent Renaissance.

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