The lodges of the fools

Under the Ancien Régime, there was no special provision for the care of the "insane" as they were called at the time. They were locked up all over the place in the towns and suburbs, and even in the surrounding countryside.

In Rouen, they were detained in beggar's warehouses, houses of strength, towers of the ramparts, but also at the Bureau des Pauvres Valides, created in 1681, which was to become the Hospice Général and which was soon responsible for housing them in a separate area.

A decision of 14 January 1687 states that "on the men's side and on the women's side, lodges will be established for the residence of the mentally retarded, placed in charge of the said hospital".

The Hospice Général de Rouen was thus to drain, in spite of itself, the "insane" from its geographical area of jurisdiction, who were initially detained in deplorable conditions in the Tour du Colombier (see sheet N°2).

After the demolition of the latter, 13 lodges were built in 1733, followed by 10 others known as "new lodges" to accommodate this population. These were, in fact, narrow dungeons with sinister walls whose doors were fitted with heavy locks, and which were also intended for "rebellious venereal women".

In 1797, the Hospice Général de Rouen counted 120 "demented" individuals, chained, without clothes and with no food other than coarse food.

This is why it was decided, in 1800, to build new lodgings for the insane in the immediate vicinity of the new chapel, a construction entrusted to its architect, Bernard Vauquelin. The complex was completed in 1802 and included 35 boxes for men, 50 boxes for women and two separate courtyards for walking.

On 11 July 1825, the official opening of the Saint-Yon asylum in Sotteville-lès-Rouen led to the definitive closure of Vauquelin's lodges and their destruction.