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Origin and history

The Protestant temple of Arras, located 16 rue Victor-Hugo, was erected between 1861 and 1863 under the direction of the Arrage architect Alcide Carré. Inaugurated on May 28, 1863, it was immediately given to the city. Its quadrangular plan, preceded by an arcade peristyle, and its facade adorned with a biblical mosaic signed Dulecat Martin make it an original building. The upper gallery, surmounted by a quotation from the Gospel according to John (14:6), emphasizes its reformed anchor.

During the First World War, the temple suffered major damage: breach in the nave, partial destruction of the roof and interior fittings. Reconstructed in the inter-war period by architects Jean Naville and Achille-Henri Chauquet (authors of the temple of the Home of the Soul in Paris), he was returned to worship in 1923. The stained glass, by E. Royer, and the preservation of the original volumes despite the post-war changes testify to this restoration.

The monument is part of an ancient local Protestant history, illustrated by figures like the printer Jean Crespin (1520–?), born in Arras. A lawyer who became heretic, he fled the city in 1545 after a trial for banishment, symbolizing persecution against the Reformed in the 16th century. The present temple, classified as a historical monument in 2010 with its annexes (presbytery and parish house), perpetuates this memory in a coherent architectural ensemble, organised around a courtyard.

Its architecture mixes brick and stone, with a small nave compensated by complex mouldings. The summital cross of the gable and the open mosaic Bible recall its cult vocation. Today owned by the commune, there remains an active place of united Protestantism in France, affiliated with the United Protestant Church of France.

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