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Key figures

Origin and history

The buildings at 9-11 rue de la Grande-Chaussée in Lille are among the few remaining buildings on the street after the fire of 1545, which destroyed 200 wooden houses. This disaster led the Lille Magistrate to prohibit, in 1567, the construction of wooden houses, although this regulation took time to apply. The current buildings, mostly stone buildings, date back to a period after these events, with a concentration of 17th century constructions.

The rue Grande-Chaussée, attested from 1066 under the name Grande-Cauchie, is one of the oldest in Lille. It linked the Grand Place to the castrum and housed the bourgeois of the city. His route also delineated the forum of the Collège Saint-Pierre. Archaeological excavations, like those of 1909, revealed remains of a medieval enclosure bordered by a ditch, confirming its central role in the original nucleus of the city.

The facades and roofs of the buildings of 9-11 rue de la Grande-Chaussée were inscribed in historical monuments by order of 30 March 1944. Their architecture reflects the urban transformations imposed after the 16th century fires, marked by the gradual abandonment of wood in favour of stone. These buildings thus testify to the evolution of the constructive norms and urbanization of Lille between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

Grande-Chaussée Street, now located in the Vieux-Lille district, retains several protected buildings, including these buildings. Their presence illustrates the persistence of a heritage linked to the commercial and bourgeois history of the city, as well as the urban regulations that shaped its present face.

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