Franciscan convent The Cordeliers established themselves in Nantes in the 13th century, before 1253. The land for their convent was donated either by the de or by the
Dukes of Brittany. The site included a chapel, likely named Saint-Michel Chapel, built in 1232 by Bishop Henri I. This chapel was partially constructed on a section of the
Gallo-Roman wall of Nantes, which had by that time lost their defensive function due to the commissioning of a further east and north along the Erdre River by
Pierre Mauclerc. Over time, the convent was regularly used by local institutions. Approximately twenty craft guilds held meetings there, and the site included an archive room and a chapel. General assemblies of the university took place on the premises, with a room designated as the “
university hall.”
Theology courses were conducted there after 1700. The Chambre des comptes of Brittany was housed at the convent from 1500 to 1535 and again from 1760 to 1782. The convent also hosted several notable events, including the Brittany Council of 1538, sessions of the Parliament of the
League, the election of Nantes’ first mayor, , in 1564, the execution of
Henri de Talleyrand-Périgord following the
Chalais conspiracy in 1626, and assemblies of the Estates. A plan prepared by engineer Recommencé and approved by Crucy in 1785 proposed a new street connecting the Place du Département with the old Rue des Cordeliers, which required the demolition of several buildings. This street, named Rue Saint-François (later Rue d’Aguesseau), was opened in 1786.
After the Revolution On 18 April 1791, during the
French Revolution, the convent was closed. It was initially used by a
political club,
La Société des Amis de la Révolution (later the Société Vincent-La-Montagne). Later that year, the sculptor
Jacques Lamarie occupied the site to work on a statue of
Louis XVI for a planned column by Crucy, although the project was not completed; the statue was eventually realized in 1823 by . In 1811, the Dames Blanches (
Carmelite nuns) acquired the convent In 1835, the construction of rue des Cordeliers led to the demolition of the conventual church. Most of the former convent, located north of the street, became part of the private Saint-Pierre School, while a smaller portion to the south was integrated into the private Saint-Vincent-de-Paul School. The municipality has proposed transforming the convent into a center for the interpretation of history and heritage, and an initial archaeological survey was conducted in May 2014 as part of this plan. == See also ==