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Origin and history

The convent of the Tiercelettes, founded in the 2nd quarter of the 17th century in Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée), was initially occupied by the Tiercelettes, nuns of the Third Order of Saint Francis. Set on land acquired in 1624-1625, they built a chapel dedicated to Sainte-Anne and the Virgin Mary in 1635. The buildings, made of limestone and honeycomb, had slate and tile roofs, with a court of honor surrounded by galleries.

Prior to the Revolution, the city had two hospitals in the Loges district, including the Hôtel-Dieu (founded around 1130), rebuilt by Philippe le Hardi in 1280. In the face of epidemics of plague (1588, 1628) and floods of 1770, its resources became insufficient. In 1684 Louis XIV transformed him into a general hospital for beggars, adding workshops and school. In 1798, after the expulsion of the nuns in 1794, the convent of the Tiercelettes was chosen to group these establishments.

The hospital opened in 1800, with the arrival of the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul in 1801. In the 19th century, extensions in U (1826-1843) and a long north-south building were built, while a cistern (1832) and an orphanage (1854) completed the whole. The chapel, disassembled in 1988 for a new operating block, lost its cradle vaults and its threshing choir during its reconstruction. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1988, it now symbolizes local hospital evolution.

In the 20th century, the hospital adapted to medical needs: extension in 1952 (clinical unit and medical departments), establishment of a nursing school (1977), and departure of sisters in 1979. Closed in 2004 after 320 years of service, the site was purchased for conversion to residences. Its architectural heritage, combining religious and medical heritage, bears witness to the social and health changes of the Vendée.

The original materials — limestone, honeycomb, coated — and the slate covers (for the chapel and the court of honour) or tile (other buildings) characterize its sober style. The chapel, initially three-nave vaulted, and the cloister (East and South Galleries) are the only protected elements since 1988. The archives also reveal a first convent founded in 1460, destroyed during the Wars of Religion, before the transfer of Rue Rabelais around 1630.

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