On the corner of the rue des Manettes, the name refers to the small statues of the Virgin formerly set at the corners of houses, the ancient timbered house (or the neighbouring house) was used as a secret worship place for the first followers of the ‘new opinions’. Though the exact date when the Reformation appeared in La Rochelle is unknown, it was introduced a little before 1540 and the suppression of ‘heresy’ forced the Protestants to be very cautious.