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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The farm of Éraine, located in the hamlet of Éraine at Bailleul-le-Soc (Oise, Hauts-de-France), is an agricultural monument whose origins date back to at least the fourteenth century, with major transformations in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It is part of the three historical farms of the commune, alongside Éreuse and Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, all linked to the abbey Notre-Dame d'Ourscamp, which played a key role in clearing the area from the twelfth century. The farm was initially integrated into a vast wooded estate, vestige of the ancient forest of Saint-Wandrille, gradually converted into arable land by the monks.

In the Middle Ages, the seigneury of Bailleul belonged to the abbey of Saint-Denis, while the surrounding lands, including Éraine, were managed by the religious of Ourscamp. The Éraine farm, like those of Éreuse and Éloges, depended spiritually on the parish of Bailleul. In the 17th century, the seigneury of the Tour d'Éraine, marked by a characteristic square tower, passed into the hands of noble families such as the Mothe-Houdancourt, then the Belleval. A chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, near the farm, occasionally served as a place of worship when conflicts prevented services in the parish church.

The French Revolution marked a turning point for the farm: confiscated as national property after the emigration of its owner, Count Jean-François-Anselme Pasquier de Franclieu, it was divided into 61 lots sold to private individuals in 1793. The farm then retained remarkable architectural elements, such as a barn, a square tower, a well, and parts of the pre-19th century wall, now protected as historical monuments since 1988. These vestiges illustrate the evolution of agricultural techniques and the seigneurial organization over centuries.

In the 19th century, the Éraine farm, like the rest of Bailleul-le-Soc, was marked by a rural economy centred on agriculture and artisanal activities such as the sewing of gloves. The hamlet of Éraine, organized around a large street, housed 32 houses in 1890 and was connected to the capital by departmental roads still used today. The farm survived the upheavals of the world wars, especially during the First World War, where Bailleul-le-Soc served as a cantonment for Allied troops, becoming an occasional target of German bombings in 1918.

Today, Éraine's farm, with its barn, tower and 18th century gate, is a major architectural and historical testimony of rural life in the Hauts-de-France. Its inscription in historical monuments in 1988 underscores its heritage importance, reflecting both the medieval monastic heritage, the seigneurial transformations of modern times, and the economic changes associated with the Industrial Revolution and the conflicts of the twentieth century.

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