Ancienne léproserie Sainte-Marie-Madeleine

English translation

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History

While the circumstances of the foundation of the leper hospital Sainte-Marie-Madeleine are not known, its establishment probably dates to the 12th century during a period of expansion in charitable works, on a site of older settlement. It is, with Saint-Anne, one of two leper hospitals of Argentan. Attested by archival documents from 1226 onwards, the establishment is supervised by a cleric and comprises an agricultural domain. From the second half of the 13th century onwards, the original community experiences progressive dissolution, then its property is placed under the guardianship of the local bourgeoisie who appropriate its revenues well before the 15th century. Attached to the hôtel-Dieu of Argentan before 1569, then definitively united with it in 1693, the domain is leased as an agricultural holding. Known from the terrier map of the parish of Mauvaisville of 1758, the site lay on the edge of the communication route between Argentan and Sées and formed a small enclave conducive to exchange at the southern entrance to the town. The oriented chapel found its access from this side, while the other buildings were organised around a closed courtyard. They probably included one or more dwellings, intended for the sick, the priest and servants, as well as outbuildings and a closed cemetery. Become a farm, this complex is transformed before 1825

Description

Built in rubble stone and limestone ashlar, the buildings retain traces of numerous alterations. The present barn, as well as the chapel, present significant masonry remains in herringbone opus, probably earlier than the 12th century. The elevations are also characterised by traces of old render and the blocking of openings which occurred during the transformation into outbuildings. The presence of a fireplace (15th century?) on the north wall of the present barn bears witness to a former residential function. For the chapel, a narrow light slit (mid-11th century) on the north eaves wall, a door with a straight lintel on cushions (12th-13th century boundary), an ogival opening with tracery (partially destroyed) at the level of the chevet and, inside, traces of polychromy as well as the remains of a rafter roof forming a couple roof (14th century?) bear witness to successive phases of modification.