Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Notre-Dame d'Hénin-Liétard, also called Hennin-Liétard or Our Lady under Evrin, was founded in the 7th century by Saint Aubert, bishop of Arras and Cambrai. After preaching in the area, he converted the Beninese and built a first church dedicated to Saint Martin. This site became a major place of worship, supported by local religious authorities.

In the 11th century, the abbey became more structured: in 1040, Robert II of Bethune and Gérard I, bishop of Cambrai, installed twelve canons there. In 1094, the latter adopted the rule of St Augustine, marking his attachment to the Augustine order. In the 12th century, the abbey consolidated its rights, confirmed by the archbishop of Reims, the pope and the king, becoming an influential economic and spiritual actor in the region.

The 14th and 15th centuries were disastrous for the abbey, undermined by wars, epidemics and a failing management of some abbots. Despite this, it retained important properties, such as priories (e.g., abbey of Villers-au-Bois) and urban refuges, including that of Arras, classified as a historical monument in 1946. A second refuge, founded in 1623 in Douai, still exists today as a private dwelling.

The end of the abbey came brutally during the French Revolution. On 6 June 1794 the department of Pas-de-Calais ordered its deletion, and its archives (charts, manuscripts) were publicly burned at Arras on 23 July 1793. The religious were dispersed, ending nearly 11 centuries of monastic history.

Among the figures related to the abbey, Étienne Célestin Enoch (1742–?), born in Henin, became bishop of Rennes. Historical sources, such as the works of Jean Becquet (1955, 1965), document his heritage and charters, while his 18th century portal, located 12 rue Victor-Hugo in Arras, remains the most visible vestige of his past.

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