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Origin and history

The Hotel of the First President of the Provincial Council of Artois, also known as Hotel de Guînes, was built in 1738 in the context of the reconstruction of the Abbey of Saint Vaast (circa 1740). This monument, one of the few private hotels in Arras, illustrates 18th-century civil architecture, with a white stone facade decorated with doric pilasters, a historiated frieze and a rock pediment. Its U-house corps, service buildings and inner courtyard reflect the fascination of the provincial elites of the Old Regime.

In 1792, the hotel was sold as a national property during the Revolution, marking its passage into the public domain. In the 19th century, it became the seat of the general recipe (1870), then acquired by the Boyenval family, which added a winter garden in cast iron and glass (1880). During World War I (1914-1918), it housed a military circle before being partially destroyed by fire in July 1915. The transformations continued in the 20th century, with the dismantling of the veranda in 1952-1953.

Interior preserves remarkable elements from the 18th century, enriched in the 19th: three lounges with original panelling, parquet floors and fireplaces, as well as decorated ceilings. The rear brick façade bears the traces of old bays with stone frames, while the court of honor highlights the symmetry of the house body. Ranked Historic Monument in 1999, the hotel now belongs to a public establishment.

Architecturally, the hotel combines classical influences (canned pilasters, triangular pediment) and rock (caissons inlaid with roses), typical of the middle of the eighteenth century. The wings in return and the blind gables underline its spatial organization, while the central span, dated 1740, recalls its link with the urban reconstruction of Arras under Louis XV. The skylights and slate roofs complete an ensemble representative of the northern aristocratic heritage.

Its history reflects the political and social upheavals of France: from pre-revolutionary splendour to nationalization, industrial adaptations (winter garden) and war destruction. Today it bears witness to both the greatness of Arras and the historical strata that marked the Hauts-de-France.

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