A noble residence spanning around 350 m², it comprises both the Renaissance-era Hôtel de Clémens and the dwelling of the Mother Prioress of the Ursuline convent, an order that occupied it until her expulsion in 1789. At the turn of the 17th century, following an inheritance benefiting the Mother Prioress of the convent built in its immediate vicinity, the Hôtel de Clémens was annexed to it and henceforth referred to in texts as the "Abbess's House". It is now an integral part of the former convent and one of the town's 17 remarkable convent dwellings, listed in 2010 as a historic monument. Long left in ruins and almost completely restored at the end of the 20th century, this important heritage site has been divided into several vast dwellings, restoring the spirit of the convent. The residence is accessed from its west-facing façade, which is two storeys high under an attic and dominated by a square tower that is now covered by a terrace. The south façade has retained a number of Renaissance features, including pilasters (in need of complete restoration). The Fontvieille limestone brings unity to the two façades. An enclosed garden courtyard, planted with trees was laid out in the 20th century and reclaimed from the former cloister. This forms the main entrance to the residence. To the east, the dwelling has a service entrance, a garage entrance and an independent service stairway in a square tower added at the end of the 18th century, which links the street directly to the upper floors, which are currently used as offices. One of the two entrances to this entire convent complex, now enclosed in a small, recently laid-out square, opens onto a pedestrian alleyway running alongside the south façade of the Hôtel de Clémens. The other entrance, a monumental, vaulted structure built over a bay of the former convent church, is closed off to the north by a gate.

The house

On the outside, the disparity between the styles of the façade of this corner house, which is very ornate on the east side and very austere on the west side, is balanced out by the building material used throughout - Fontvieille stone. Inside, the three vaulted rooms, one with a tunnel and the other two with quadripartite pointed arches - one of which was the prioress's oratory, with keys engraved with Latin crosses and consoles sculpted with faces and acanthus leaves - are sumptuous reminders of what the Hôtel de Clémens once was. The unusually large spiral staircase with its solid central core and counter-clockwise configuration, also testifies to the family's grandeur. Finally, a maxim painted in the 18th century at the entrance to the prioress's room recalls the golden rule of the place: SILENCE.

The garden-level floor
It is entered from the west via the courtyard, which is separated from the road by a small door (fitted with a camera). Following on from this entrance, another door (with an alarm) leads to the interior of the house via a modestly sized hall, which contrasts with the palatial proportions of the spiral staircase which begins here. Under the staircase, there is a small, yet lovely cellar where a few bottles can be stored. To the right of the stairs there are two vaulted rooms: one, a tunnel, which was formerly the "vanity" entrance and which opens west onto the courtyard/garden, is now used as a small office; the other, a ribbed room, which opens south and is used as a reception/living room, was once used for providing catechism to the needy. Behind the spiral staircase, a corridor leads to a toilet and a garage on the right, and to a third room on the left with a pointed vault and ornate brackets, the remains of the abbess's oratory, now used as a dining room/conservatory, with a wide window overlooking the courtyard/garden. At the far end, to the east, there is a kitchen with an inglenook fireplace and contemporary fittings. Everywhere, the floors are covered with old stone slabs from the Fontvieille quarries or old leaf screens, and the walls are whitewashed.
The first floor
The spiral staircase, several steps of which have been worn down over the centuries and in need of restoration, leads to a small landing that leads to four rooms at slightly different levels. Three of the rooms have fireplaces, each with terracotta tiled floors and whitewashed walls whose monastic sparseness is enhanced by a solid oak 'French-style' ceiling. The first and most spectacular room is the large library, with a ceiling height of over 5 metres. A monumental fireplace with a painted trumeau was added to this room in the 18th century. It opens to the west through a high small-paned window from the 18th century, protected by shutters in Arles style, and to the south through a large mullioned window from the Renaissance period, which is now blocked up. The three bedrooms, linked by a common corridor to the same bathroom, are roughly similar in size, with one, the prioress's, facing west and the other two facing east.
The second floor
The top floor, reached on the west side by the spiral staircase, just before it ends, has the largest number of rooms. It was refurbished at the end of the 20th century to include three bedrooms, a bathroom and two shower rooms, as well as a large workspace with a separate workshop and study. This workspace is directly accessible from street level via an external service staircase in a square tower to the east. This allows users to get to the offices without having to go through the private part of the house.