Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The St. Lawrence church came into being in 1024, when a chapel dedicated to St.Antoine was erected in the suburbs of Rouen under the patronage of the Abbey of St.Wandrille. Fired in 1248, it was rebuilt between 1440 and 1482 with a tower added between 1490 and 1501. Its bell tower, damaged several times (crash in 1520, storms in 1638 and 1683), saw its arrow definitively demolished in 1810 after a restoration in 1703.

The French Revolution marked a turning point: the parish of Saint-Laurent was abolished in 1791 for the benefit of Saint-Godard, and the building, disused, became a meeting place for the Jacobin club. Sold as a national property in 1803, it served as a hangar and stable for almost a century. In 1891, its destruction was envisaged by its owner, notary Paul Courcelle, but the mobilization of patrons such as François Depeaux and the intervention of the Commission des Monuments Historiques (classification in 1914) allowed it to be safeguarded.

Purchased by the city of Rouen in 1893, the church was restored by architect Lucien Lefort to house the Norman Art Museum in 1911. In 1920, it became the Musée Le Secq des Tournelles, home to the ironwork collection bequeathed by Henri Le Secq des Tournelles (1854–1925), initiated by his father in 1862. Inaugurated in 1921, this museum now holds more than 15,000 pieces, making it the world's largest collection in this field.

The building preserves architectural traces of its successive reconstructions (15th to 16th centuries) and illustrates the urban changes of Rouen, from the status of parish church to that of museum. Its classification as a historic monument in 1914 and its label "Musée de France" underline its heritage importance, both for its religious history and for its present role in preserving the iron arts.

Future

It was bought in 1893 by the city of Rouen, which transformed it into a museum in 1911. The Musée Le Secq des Tournelles has a unique collection of ironwork including architectural elements, signs, locks, bumpers, coffee mill, tools, jewelry, sewing and costume objects.

External links