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Origin and history

The Bours dungeon, erected in the 14th and 15th centuries, is one of the oldest noble houses in the Hauts-de-France region. Ranked as a historic monument in 1965, it is distinguished by its stoneware structure in Artois, typical of local castral architecture. Originally, it was part of a larger seigneurial ensemble, including a farm and outbuildings, which now disappeared.

The seigneury of Bours, mentioned at the end of the 12th century with Adam de Bours, passed into the hands of noble families such as the Mailly (from 1389) and the Sainte-Aldegonde (XVIth–XVIIIth centuries). The dungeon, partially destroyed during the Franco-Spanish wars (1537, 1543), lost its residential function in the 18th century. After centuries of abandonment, it was saved from ruin in the 19th century, then restored between 1965 and the 1980s.

Architecturally, the dungeon consists of a square tower flanked by six corbelled turrets, with pepper roofs. Despite its defensive appearance, its thickness of modest walls (30 cm) and the absence of elaborate defence systems reveal a primarily residential and ostentatious vocation. The moat, now dried, and an assumption at the entrance, however, recall its castral origin.

In the 20th century, the dungeon temporarily housed the town hall of Bours (1982–2014). Since 2015, restorations have stabilized the building, while the community of municipalities in Pernois is planning to make it a historic centre. The site, managed by local associations such as the CRAH, remains a rare testimony of the medieval seigneurial houses of the Artois.

The monument illustrates the evolution of local lords, from Franco-Spanish conflicts to the upheavals of the French Revolution. Its fire-resistant sandstone, having survived the fires of 1537 and 1543, symbolizes the persistence of this heritage despite the hazards of history. Today, it embodies both an architectural heritage and an issue of cultural valorisation for Ternois.

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