Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Assumption of Quesnoy was erected in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century to replace the old church of Sainte-Marguerite, built around 1416 in Gothic style. This previous building, with 12 chapels and a bell tower, was surrounded by a cemetery and houses, including 13 royal butchers. He was burned in 1794 during the clashes between the revolutionary forces and those of the Coalition. As early as 1803 the population called for reconstruction, but the first project of the architect Benjamin Dewarlez, proposed in 1812, was rejected by the public works commission.

In 1824, the city council launched the project and entrusted the plans to architect Thory, before Louis-Pierre Baltard proposed a sketch. Finally, the architect Vallez was chosen to design a neoclassical building of basilica, sober and elegant, reflecting the bourgeois values of the Restoration. The building was built from 1826 to 1829 in brick and stone, with a seven-span nave and a hemicycle choir. The interior decoration, later, was completed in 1849 by entrepreneur Cambreleng and architect Alexandre Grimault, integrating neo-Renaissance stuccos evoking the Immaculate Conception.

The church, damaged during the two world wars, nevertheless retained a remarkable stylistic consistency, illustrating the religious architectural evolution of the period, from neoclassicism to historical eclecticism. It was completely classified (facade, roof, interior) by order of 25 February 2021, testifying to its heritage importance.

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