Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Canteleu is a former hospital establishment founded in the 3rd quarter of the 15th century in Lille, specifically in the present municipality of Lomme. Created in 1461 thanks to a donation by Philippe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, its construction began in 1466 to welcome non-bourgeois lepers. It completes Lille's first maladry, reserved for the bourgeois since 1233. Managed by the Chambre des comptes de Lille, it offers an annuity to the sick for their subsistence.

In the 17th century, with the disappearance of leprosy, the maladry reconverted to welcome pestifers, in connection with the Maison de santé du riez de Canteleu (1624). In 1662 it was transferred to the Béguines de Sainte-Élisabeth de Lille, before its property was transferred to the hospital Saint-Sauveur in 1693. The site was finally purchased in 1857 by Eugène Verstraete to establish a flax factory.

From the original ensemble — chapel, four houses and cemetery — only the chapel remains today. Built in bricks and covered with a very inclined roof, it is pierced with ogival windows. Ranked a historic monument in 1982, it is located at 253 Dunkirk Avenue, near Canteleu - Euratechnologies Metro Station. Its architecture reflects its medieval use while integrating further developments.

Historical sources, such as the work of Christiane Lesage (1977-1979), highlight his role in the management of contagious diseases in Lille. The maladry also illustrates urban change, moving from a place of care to an industrial site, before becoming a protected heritage. Its location, on the border between Lille and Lomme, marks the historical expansion of the metropolis.

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