Chapelle des Cordeliers, Medieval chapel in Angoulême, France.

Chapelle des Cordeliers is a chapel in Angoulême whose surviving Gothic fabric dates from the 13th to 15th centuries, when it served the Franciscan convent. Its stone walls, ribbed vaulting and pointed arches follow the mendicant Gothic model, and the building is inscribed as a monument historique. Look for the carved corbels where the vault ribs spring from the walls.

The Franciscans settled in Angoulême in the 13th century, and the chapel served their convent until the order was suppressed at the Revolution, when the building passed into other hands. It was inscribed as a monument historique, and the surviving shell preserves the medieval structure of the friars' church.

The chapel belonged to the Franciscan convent of Angoulême, whose friars settled in the city in the 13th century. Look for the name Cordeliers, the French term for the corded belt of the Franciscans, which gave the order its popular nickname. The building later passed to other uses after the community dispersed.

The chapel stands on rue des Cordeliers in the old town of Angoulême, a short walk uphill from the cathedral and the ramparts. The surrounding streets are narrow and partly pedestrian, so arriving on foot is simpler than by car. As an inscribed monument that is not always open, check access conditions before setting out.

The chapel preserves carved details on its interior walls that show how medieval craftsmen worked stone and created religious symbols. These handcrafted marks are rare surviving examples of medieval stonework and artistic skill in a building of this type.