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  2. Patrimoine
  3. Hauts-de-France
  4. Pas-de-Calais
  5. 62270 Frévent

  6. Cercamp Abbey

 Cercamp Abbey à Frévent dans le Pas-de-Calais

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine religieux
Abbaye
Pas-de-Calais

Cercamp Abbey

    1-5 Rue d'Arras
    62270 Frévent
Private property
Museums of France
All abbeys, monasteries and priories of France
Abbaye de Cercamp
Abbaye de Cercamp
Crédit photo : Adophe de Cardevacque - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1131
Foundation of the Abbey
1288
Burial of Mahaut de Brabant
1415
Washing by the English
1558–1559
Cateau-Cambrésis negotiations
1790
Revolutionary closure
1915
Headquarters of Foch
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The facades, roofs and rooms on the ground floor with their woodwork and fireplaces in the guest building; the facades and roofs of the Porterie: classification by decree of 15 April 1947; The former Abbey of Cercamp, in its entirety, with the exception of those parts already classified by the decree of 15 April 1947, comprising in particular the castle, the remains of the abbey, the various ancillary buildings (carrier, textile spinning, monks' houses, agricultural buildings, etc.) and the remains built or buried, including the former hydraulic network, the aisle of lindens leading to the castle, the park, as well as all the parcels constituting the estate, as represented on the plan annexed to the decree, in red for the buildings, in green for the plots and in light blue for the hydraulic network, located on plots n° 15, 24, 25, 31 to 38, appearing in the cadastre section AE : classification by decree of 16 March 2015

Key figures

Hugues III de Campdavaine - Count of Saint-Pol and founder Created the abbey to atone for his crimes.
Mahaut de Brabant - Countess of Artois and Saint-Pol Buried in 1288 in the abbey.
Pierre de Bachimont - Abbey reconstructor (XVI century) Restaura the church and added stained glass.
Ferdinand Foch - French General (1915) He set up his headquarters there.
Guy de Châtillon - Count of Saint-Pol Husband of Mahaut, buried near her.

Origin and history

The Abbey of Notre-Dame de Cercamp, founded in 1131 by Hugues III de Campdavaine, Count of Saint-Pol, is a Cistercian abbey daughter of Pontigny. Located in the valley of the Canche in Frévent (Pas-de-Calais), it was built after the destruction of Saint-Riquier by Hugues, who sought to expiate his actions by this foundation. According to legend, he was condemned to wander in the form of a wolf (the "Beast of Canteraine") for his abuses. The monastery became a place of burial for local lords, such as Hugues Corbet (1124) or Mahaut de Brabant (1288), wife of Guy de Châtillon.

In the Middle Ages, the abbey prospered thanks to gifts and rents, such as that of 13 muids of grain imposed by Hugues V de Châtillon in 1239, in exchange for annual shipments of herring and butter to the Pont-aux-Dames Abbey. It was ravaged during the Hundred Years' War (1415) and raised in the 16th century by Abbé Pierre de Bachimont, who embellished the church with stained glass windows and altars. The abbey also played a diplomatic role: the preliminary negotiations of the Cateau-Cambrésis treaties (1558–1559) began there, putting an end to the wars between France, Spain and England.

The French Revolution marked its decline: the abbey was closed in 1790, its property transferred to the department, and its archives burned in 1793. Sold as a national property in 1795, it became a spinning plant in the 19th century before being partially destroyed. In the 20th century, General Foch installed his headquarters there in 1915, welcoming figures such as King George V. Ranked a historic monument in 1946 and 2015, it is now open to the public and in the process of restoration, preserving its remains (porterry, guest buildings) and its park.

The abbey owes its name (Cercamp, "field of deer") to its carved shield, now integrated into the hotel Saint-Martin de Frévent. Its history combines medieval legends, seigneurial power, and architectural heritage, illustrating the influence of Cistercians in northern France. The current remains include elements of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as traces of its medieval hydraulic network, fed by a canal dug by the monks.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum