About the Récollets

The Récollets, chaplains to the French army, held vast tracts of property near the fortifications (not far from the Faubourg des Récollets, naturally enough). When the British conquerors arrived, however, they prohibited the Order from recruiting new members. The convent was transformed into military barracks, and the chapel into an Anglican church and later a church for the Irish community. In 1818, buildings were erected in the gardens, to be replaced by others in the 1860s. The former convent was replaced in 1868 by the Recollet House, an office building.

Stone framing

Rue Sainte-Hélène

Des Récollets

The chapel of the Récollets bore a Baroque façade designed in 1723 by Chaussegros de Léry for the first Notre-Dame church. The entire building disappeared in 1867.