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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Hauts-de-France
  4. Pas-de-Calais
  5. 62145 Estrée-Blanche

  6. Château de Créminil

 Château de Créminil à Estrée-Blanche dans le Pas-de-Calais

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château Médiéval et Renaissance
Pas-de-Calais

Château de Créminil

    11 Rue de la Mairie
    62145 Estrée-Blanche
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Château de Créminil
Crédit photo : L’auteur n’a pas pu être identifié automatiquement - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1329
First certificate
1443
Construction by the Le May family
XVIe siècle
Post-conflict restorations
1708
Lille Headquarters
XVIIIe siècle
Transformation into residence
19 avril 2005
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The facades, roofs and moats of the castle, as well as the wooded park surrounding it with the ally of lime trees that leads to the castle (cad. linden alley, at the outlet of CD 186: C 26, 30; wooded park bounded by the river Laquette: C 454, 455; moat: C 28, 33; land surrounding the castle: C 29, 34; castle buildings and courtyard: C 35): classification by decree of 19 April 2005

Key figures

Famille Le May - Initial constructors Sponsors of the castle in 1443.
Hugues de Buleux - Owner in 1540 Successor of the May family.
Antoine de Vignacourt - Owner in 1670 Possessor before Le Merchier.
Famille Le Merchier - Owners (1687-Revolution) Latest owners before 1789.
Duc de Malborough - English General Campa in Estrée-Blanche in 1708.
Prince Eugène de Savoie-Carignan - Austrian Commander Directed troops to the area.

Origin and history

The château de Créminil, located in Estrée-Blanche in Pas-de-Calais, is attested as early as 1329 as a small defensive building designed to resist looting. Its present structure, a circular plan flanked by towers and surrounded by double moats, dates mainly from the 15th century, when the Le May family began its construction in 1443. The damage suffered during the conflicts of the sixteenth century required further restoration.

The history of the castle is marked by successive owners: the Le May family until 1540, followed by Hugues de Buleux, then Antoine de Vignacourt in 1670, and finally the Le Merchier family from 1687 to the Revolution. During the Spanish Succession War (1708), the site was a strategic point: the Duke of Malborough established his camp there on 21 July, while Prince Eugene de Savoie-Carignan led troops to the region.

In the 18th century, the castle lost some of its defences (excluding the shooting openings of the north tower), while gaining a terrace overlooking the moat and holes in the facades. The estate, including a wooded park, a lime alley and the Laquette River, was classified as a historic monument in 1946 (registration) and in 2005 (final classification), highlighting its heritage importance.

The etymology of the name "Créminil" refers to its limestone foundations: "Cré" (crayon) and "Minil" (manor), thus evoking "the chalk mansion". This geological detail reflects the local materials used in its construction, typical of the Hauts-de-France region.

Today, the castle preserves medieval defensive elements (doves, drawbridge, towers) as well as traces of its subsequent transformations. The adjoining buildings, like a farm and a house, bear witness to its historic role both military, residential and agricultural in the Pas-de-Calais landscape.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum