Hôtel de Chimay
building in Paris, France
The Hôtel de Chimay (French pronunciation: [otɛl də ʃimɛ]), originally the Hôtel de La Bazinière ([la bazinjɛʁ]), is a hôtel particulier, a type of large townhouse of France, built in 1635 on a site that is now at 17 quai Malaquais in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Since 1883, it has been an extension of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, a distinguished National School of Fine Arts.
History
The Quai Malaquais in Paris was constructed around 1552. The purpose of it was to protect the Pré-aux-Clercs area from floods which it was prone to. From 1585, it was given the name Malaquais.
Hôtel de La Bazinière
This hôtel was constructed in 1635 by the entrepreneurs Simon Delespine (d.1680), Martial Baret and Jean Péronne for Macé I Bertrand de La Bazinière, a royal treasurer.
Between 1653 and 1658, the hôtel was modified to the designs of the famous François Mansart. Some of the interior work was carried out by Charles Le Brun, then the protégé of Nicolas Fouquet. It was around 1658, that the building was the subject of an engraving by the architect Jean Marot.
During 1665, the hôtel was the home of Henrietta Maria of France, former queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland, Queen Mother of England, Scotland and Ireland, widow of Charles I, mother of Charles II and James II, sister of Louis XIII, aunt of Louis XIV and mother of the Duchess of Orléans.
“Hôtel de Chimay” enters the record as building in Paris, France. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Hôtel, Chimay and building can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Hôtel de Chimay” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Hôtel, Chimay and building provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3145802. Authority coordinates are 48.858, 2.334. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1635, 1883, 1552 and 1585.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hôtel de Chimay”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hôtel de Chimay primary sources, Hôtel de Chimay archive and Hôtel research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hôtel de Chimay”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hôtel de Chimay” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.