The Stone History of Villa Repiquet

Villa Repiquet is a remarkable house in Saint-Denis, La Réunion, located at 25 Rue de Paris. Constructed between 1839 and 1844 on land belonging to Étienne Dureau de Vaulcomte, it holds the distinction of being the first house built in stone on the island. The building was developed on parcels gathered by Zélie Dureau de Vaulcomte and her husband Benjamin Bédier, resulting in a masonry residence with two four-sided roofs.

In 1858, the house changed owners twice, first to Denis-André Le Coat de Kveguen and then to Victor Thomy Lory des Landes. Lory des Landes closed the open varangues and added a gallery connecting the two bodies of the house, supported by fluted cast iron columns. Between 1928 and 1930, a wrought iron gate was installed. During this same period, Adrien Lagourgue - director of the Stella Matutina sugar factory and president of the Conseil général from 1920 to 1943 - became the owner and enclosed the Creole garden with a wrought iron bar supported by carved stone pillars.

In 1962, Solange Repiquet became the owner and significantly transformed the house after Cyclone Jenny tore off the original roof on February 28, 1962. She replaced it with a reinforced concrete slab, giving the house its current flat-roof appearance. Today, Sophie Repiquet, the fourth generation of the family, is undertaking a vast renovation of the abandoned construction. The completion of these interior and exterior works is estimated for 2026.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons