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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Paul church of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise is a modern religious building built between 1958 and 1960, designed by architects Jean-Frédéric Battut and Robert Warnesson. It replaces a former chapel of the Carmelite convent, founded in 1615 and became parish church after the French Revolution, destroyed during the bombings of June 1944. The location chosen corresponds to that of the former town hall, also razed during the Second World War. The western façade of the old church, protected since 1944, was reused in the new construction.

The current structure, made of brick and concrete, adopts a basilical plane without transept, with a choir narrower than the nave. A covered gallery, supported by concrete pillars, connects the church to the chapel of the black sisters. Inside, the brick vaults and the arches in the middle hanger rest on pillars crossed by stands. The stained glass windows, created by Claude Blanchet, and a 17th century organ (1682), from Saint-Georges d'Hesdin priory and classified in 2003, are among the outstanding elements. The campanile, a quadrangular concrete structure surmounted by a copper arrow, is an architectural feature of the building.

The church houses several objects classified as historical monuments, including 16th century baptismal fonts, a 17th century cross Christ, 18th century stalls, and a 19th century reliquary. These elements, as well as the instrumental part of the organ, testify to the heritage wealth preserved despite the destructions of 1944. The reconstruction is part of a larger urban project, including the reconstruction of the city hall by the same architects, marking the renaissance of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise after the war.

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