Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The town hall of Noyon found its origins in the Middle Ages, with a first mention of a townhouse in 1292, replaced by a flamboyant Gothic building built between 1485 and 1520 under the direction of architect Matthieu Réaulme. A fire in 1552 partially destroyed the building, saving the house, while the belfry, rebuilt several times since 1293, was never restored. The façade preserves 16th century carved decorations, mixing real and fantastic animals, as well as plant motifs, testimony to its flamboyant style.

In the 17th century, architect Pierre Binard transformed the town hall into a classic style, adding elements such as balustrades, skylights and a campanile. Ranked a historic monument in 1875, the building escaped a medieval restoration deemed too expensive. Destroyed during the 1918 fighting, it was restored in the 1920s and 1930s, with a concrete frame and a modern extension for the administrative services. However, the demolition of nearby houses from the 17th and 18th centuries in 1935 led to its decommissioning, before a new protection in 1998 and 2004.

The interior houses major artistic works, including seven marouflage paintings (1942-1943) illustrating local history, by Largeteau, Hoffmann and Beaupuy. There are also bas-reliefs by Émile Pinchon (Colonial Exhibition of 1931), a painting by Guyenot (Travaux des Champs, 1944), and a painting by Joseph Porphyre Pinchon commemorating the handover of the Cross of War to Noyon in 1919. The honorary salon exhibits the Evangeliar of Morienval, a Carolingian manuscript, and a statue of Jacques Sarazin, a 16th century Noyon sculptor.

The more sober oriental facade features an octagonal staircase turret called the beautiful ascent, while the main façade, decorated with empty niches and archatures, bears traces of revolutionary mutilations on its monarchic symbols. Despite the restorations, the carved decoration of the 16th century remains very altered today, reflecting the vicissitudes of a monument marked by fires, wars and architectural transformations.

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