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Origin and history

The priory Beaurepaire, also known as Belus reditus, is a former priory of Canons located in Somain (North), in the district of De Sessevalle. Founded in the 11th century by Princess Gisèle, wife of Count Everard and granddaughter of Charlemagne, it was originally intended for converse nuns or sisters. The site is mentioned as early as 1219 under the names Biau Repaire or Belluus Reditus, with its lands, woods (like the wood of Biarche) and streams, linked to such local places as the Raines farm or the marsh. From the twelfth century, the cohabitation between canons and converses aroused tensions, leading Pope Innocent III to order in 1208 a regulation of their number, limited to twelve converses.

In 1193, the priory welcomed Ingeburge of Denmark, the repudiated wife of King Philip II Auguste, after his controversial marriage to Amiens. The king tried to cancel the union, and Ingeburge was first sent to the Priory of Saint Maur before being transferred to Beaurepaire. In the 13th century, the bishop of Arras intervened again to prohibit the reception of new converses, providing for their gradual replacement by canons after their death. The priory, rebuilt in the 18th century, became a private residence, inhabited notably by Mr. Morel, Mayor of Somain. Its large ditches, once filled with water, and its underground passages (the length of which remains unknown) bear witness to its medieval past.

The site was included in the historical monuments inventory in 1975 for its facades, roofs and entrance gates. In the 19th century, it was at the heart of a legal dispute with the city of Somain concerning two parcels of land, resolved by a judgement in 1831. In 1825 King Charles X erected part of his land as a majorate for Marie-François-Joseph de Louvencourt, including the wood of Beaurepaire. Near the mines of Aniche, the priory sees its environment transformed by industrialisation, with the construction of the Beaurepaire city. A fire damaged the site on 29 June 2023.

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