Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The courthouse of Melle finds its origins in a noble house of the 15th century, probably built for Guillaume de Cousdun, knight and lord of the Ousches, as attested by the family coat of arms engraved on a window and a door. This hotel, originally named Hotel de Ménoc in reference to a 14th century marriage, was partially transformed into a Protestant temple at the end of the 16th century, before being demolished in 1646. In the 17th century, it belonged to Abraham Levesque, a doctor, which could explain his later nickname "the bishopric", attested to in the 18th century.

In 1841, architect Pierre Segrétain was commissioned to convert the hotel into a courthouse after the abandonment of a neo-classical project. The works (1843–46) retained only two medieval towers and a section of wall, while adding fantastic neo-Gothic elements, such as pendant vaults and screw stairs. A garden was built in 1858 to the west, after the demolition of adjacent houses. In 1863, architect Pierre Murisson enlarged the court to the west, preserving intact the courtroom and its original decor.

The building thus combines medieval vestiges (stone arrow towers, stairways covered with ribbed vaults) and 19th century additions, such as the long-paned roof or the west terrace. Ranked as a Historic Monument in 1911 for its towers, it was fully registered in 2013, including potential archaeological remains of the soil. It is a communal property that bears witness to the architectural and judicial evolution of Melle, from her role as a seigneurial house to her present function.

Among the remarkable details are vaults on pendants (constructive rarity) and an atypical spatial distribution, reflecting successive adaptations. The coat of arms of the Cousdun, visible on the south tower, recall the noble origin of the place, while the "fantasy" sculptures illustrate the creativity of the artisans of the different eras. The building thus embodies an architectural palimpsest, where each stratum tells a chapter of local history.

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