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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Boileau Tower was built in 1489 in Beauvais, Oise department, under the leadership of the then mayor, Boileau. The latter wanted to strengthen the city's defences after the siege of 1472, by erecting this structure near the old Saint John Gate, near the confluence of the Thérain and the Avelon. The tower, located about 30 meters ahead of the rampart, was connected to it by a covered gallery.

This monument served both as a defence point and a "bridge building" equipped with valves to regulate the flow of rivers feeding the ditches of fortifications. It was also used to operate mills built downstream on the banks. The tower was partially preserved despite the dismantling of the ramparts of Beauvais in the 19th century, leaving remains such as the covered gallery and the bridge building.

In the 17th century, the Boileau Tower was used as a prison for captured Spanish soldiers. Today, it houses the headquarters of the Association des amis de Jeanne Hachette. Ranked historic monument by decree of 20 May 1930 (after a first inscription on 5 April 1930), it still dominates the confluence of the Thérain and the Avelon, testifying to the military and hydraulic history of the city.

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