Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Museum of the Priory of Graville finds its origins in the collections of the first museum of Le Havre, founded in 1843 and opened in 1845. These varied collections (paintings, sculptures, art objects, archaeology) were gradually redistributed after 1876, with a transfer of natural history collections to the old Palace of Justice. In 1926, a museum of history and archaeology opened in two rooms of the Graville Abbey, while the bombings of 1944 destroyed the original museum, saving the collections housed in the Abbey.

After the war, a reorganization led to the reopening of the Museum of the Priory in 1953, now dedicated to religious art. Between 2005 and 2009, a complete restructuring redefined the spaces: Jules Gosselin's (1949) housing models were installed on the floor, while religious collections occupied the ground floor. The abbey, classified as early as 1875 for its church and lower rooms, saw its entire site protected in 1945, including cemetery, gardens and terraces.

The Sainte-Honorine Abbey, built on a cliffside in the 9th century, dominates the Seine estuary in the Graville district (attached to Le Havre in 1919). Its permanent collections, enriched with medieval statuary, stone elements and antique furniture, illustrate the religious and urban history of Le Havre. The museum, labeled Musée de France, is part of a network of historic sites reorganized in 2012 under the name Museums of Art and History, marking their entry into the 21st century.

The museum's major assets lie in its statuary (Middle Age–XIXth century), its liturgical objects and Gosselin's models, offering a retrospective history of human habitation. These ensembles, complemented by temporary exhibitions, highlight the twofold heritage of the site: an exceptional architectural heritage and collections reflecting the memory of Havre, from the medieval to the industrial era.

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