Claude Groulard (ca1551 - 1607)

Claude GROULARD was born in Dieppe around 1551 into a rich bourgeois family. He was appointed first President of the Parliament of Normandy on 16 April 1585, a position he held until his death. His motto "Always do good" led him to wage a fierce and renowned battle against destitution.

In 1602, under the reign of Henri IV, Claude Groulard bought a large plot of land, partially built, located between the Aubette and the Robec, for 3,900 pounds, where he erected the first buildings of the future general hospital. Located on a part of the Martainville suburb, in the Maresquerie district and on the edge of the Célestins convent, this land was an old dried-up swamp.

He died in Rouen on 3 December 1607 and a white marble mausoleum was erected in his honour in one of the chapels of the Célestins convent. After many ups and downs, this mausoleum was moved in 1864 to the Saint-Etienne chapel of Rouen cathedral, where it still stands. In this chapel, which occupies the entire ground floor of the Tour de Beurre, two 17th century funerary statues can be admired, that of Claude Groulard as an orant, and that of his second wife Barbe Guiffard as a recumbent.