Nothing above faith

The building was promoted by the Ministry of Mercy and Justice in order to house the Archive of Protocols and Public Deeds, which would replace the one in its old location in Carrera de San Francisco, where it had been since it was founded in 1761. The reasons for the move were clear and appear in the project of the architect Joaquín de la Concha Alcalde in keeping with the conditions imposed by the Ministry to guarantee the permanence of the building as a depository of notarial protocols: it had to be solid, made of non-combustible materials, by using granite and artificial stone, brick and a cast iron support structure. Its simple façade bears the notaries’ motto: Nihil prius fide.