Another building listed by the Quebec state, the monastery of the nuns of Berthierville, came very close to being destroyed. On the night of May 23 in the early morning, the former monastery of the Dominican Nuns in Berthierville was the victim of a suspicious fire. An investigation was opened by the police officers of the Sûreté du Québec.
The fire, considered curious from the outset, prospered from a hearth located on a walkway located at the back of the building which leads to the upper floors. According to Sébastien Proulx, spokesperson for the Berthierville firefighters, a call was received at 5:30 a.m. About 25 firefighters had to intervene. Fortunately, there were no injuries. The extent of the damage is unknown at this time.
The Monastery of the Nuns is one of the few surviving monasteries of contemplative nuns built outside the major urban centers. Despite everything, the building was scheduled for demolition in 2019. In the absence of preservation regulations, the municipality of Berthierville had first granted the new owner a permit to raze it. At the same time, the MRC recommended, on the contrary, to preserve it.
This neo-Romanesque style convent building, designed in 1934 by a professor from the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, had been saved in extremis from the peak of the demolishers, to the great displeasure of the real estate developer André St-Martin. He had planned to use the land for “a development”, he explained to the To have to.
Mr. St-Martin has since disputed the adequacy of the protection that the Ministry of Culture and Communications (MCC) granted to the building. He had made it known that the acquisition of the building was motivated by the intention of demolishing it.
In the face of popular pressure, the demolition was blocked at the last minute by the MCC. The building is located in the heart ofloversa film directed by director Louise Sigouin in 2019.
Repeated destruction
Several heritage buildings have been destroyed in recent years, deplores Action patrimoine, a national organization that has been trying since 1975 to protect and enhance Quebec’s heritage. “We are concerned to see the disappearance of many heritage buildings, whether protected or not, throughout Quebec. »
Several buildings were reduced to ashes by suspicious flames. In Gaspésie, the oldest house on the peninsula was burned down in the spring of 2020, after having escaped other such attempts. The building was however classified by the State. It enjoyed the protection of the law, as was also the case for the Taschereau manor. Located in Beauce, this building was also the victim of an arson attack. At the time of the tragedy, in the winter of 2021, many lamented that this building, which housed one of the most important political families in Quebec, had been abandoned and unattended for months.
In Quebec, the imposing Villa Livernois was also destroyed by a fire of suspicious origin. Citizens campaigned for this exceptional building to be protected. A fire that is difficult to explain also got the better of the Salaberry-Juchereau-Duchesnay house, considered to be of superior heritage interest.
Could these heritage building fires have been avoided? Proper maintenance and safety procedures may not be in place in heritage buildings. Action Patrimoine observes that under the current law on cultural heritage, municipalities should at the very least “adopt themselves with a maintenance regulation”. At press time, MCC had not responded to questions from the To have to on this subject.
Heritage Action says to follow closely, since 2019, the evolution of the file of the Monastery of Berthierville. “We are following the file with interest and are awaiting developments relating to the fire and the state of the building”.