Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel
Monument
Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel, located in Arras (Pas-de-Calais), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.2882, 2.7696
- Mérimée Reference
- PA62000132
An 18th-century rocaille jewel in the heart of Arras, this former Louis XV mansion has survived the centuries as an abbot's palace, a revolutionary prison and a secondary school, preserving a sculpted forebuilding of rare elegance.
History
Along the cobbled streets of Arras, between the famous Flemish facades of the Grand-Place and the historic districts of the city of Arras, lies a building that tells the story of three centuries of upheaval in France. The former Hôtel de Beauffort, now the Collège Jehan Bodel, is one of the few surviving examples of Louis XV-style civil architecture in the Pas-de-Calais, a precious testimony to a time when the provincial aristocracy aspired to rival the refinement of the capital. What immediately sets this building apart is the formal coherence of its composition: a typically Parisian plan "between courtyard and garden", two square storeys topped by a Mansard-style broken roof, and above all a three-bay central forebuilding whose Rocaille sculptures are a veritable cabinet of lapidary curiosities. Rolled cartouches, stylised plant motifs, shells and asymmetrical ornaments characteristic of the Rocaille taste are displayed on the limestone with a sophistication that contrasts with the usual sobriety of regional architecture. The architectural interest of the Hôtel de Beauffort also lies in its position at the crossroads of two aesthetics: while the exterior decoration is fully in keeping with the libertine and ornamental spirit of the Louis XV period, certain details - stricter moulded frames, a return to rigorous symmetry - already herald the classical revival that was to take hold in the 1780s. The building is thus a living document of the stylistic transition of the 18th century. Today still occupied by the Jehan Bodel college, the building is not open to the public, but its façade on the street offers the attentive walker an architectural spectacle of the highest order. The fact that it was listed as a Historic Monument in 2012 guarantees the preservation of this discreet but essential heritage, which the people of Arrage themselves sometimes rediscover with astonishment.
Architecture
The Hôtel de Beauffort is part of the eighteenth-century Parisian mansion tradition, transposed to the provinces with remarkable care. The layout between courtyard and garden, characteristic of the style, organises the spaces according to a logic of representation and intimacy: the courtyard of honour on the street side is used to welcome guests and stage social events, while the garden to the rear provides a secluded space. The elevation comprises a ground floor and two square storeys - a sober, well-balanced layout - topped by a Mansard-style broken roof whose high, convertible attic space demonstrates a well-thought-out economy of space. The centrepiece of the composition is undoubtedly the three-bay central projection that enlivens the main facade. This slightly projecting projection features a rich Rocaille-style sculptural programme: cartouches with moving contours, floral garlands, shells and asymmetrical scrolls characteristic of the French taste of the 1740s and 1760s. This decorative vocabulary, exuberant without ever going overboard, contrasts with the more neutral treatment of the side bays and gives the whole a dynamic balance. However, more measured elements - strictly proportioned window frames and a continuous cornice - herald the shift towards the neoclassical style that would dominate the end of the century. The materials used are those of the Artesian and Picardy tradition: the local limestone, a slightly creamy white, gives the façade a characteristic luminosity. The Mansard roof, probably covered in slate, forms the natural crowning touch to this hierarchical composition. The 19th-century extension, built when the building was converted into a secondary school in 1820, adopts a more sober and functional architectural language, evident in the juxtaposition of volumes.
Related Figures
Famille de Beauffort — commanditaires et premiers propriétaires de l'hôtel au milieu du XVIIIe siècleJehan Bodel — poète et dramaturge arrageois du XIIe siècle, dont le collège porte le nom en hommageFrançois Mansart — architecte français du XVIIe siècle dont le toit brisé caractéristique est repris sur l'édificeMaximilien de Robespierre — natif d'Arras, figure de la Révolution dont la période de Terreur justifie en partie la transformation de l'hôtel en prison en 1793L'abbé résidant en 1780 — dignitaire ecclésiastique anonyme qui fit de l'hôtel un palais abbatial dans les dernières années de l'Ancien Régime
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel located?
Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel is located in Arras, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel built?
Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel open to visitors?
Ancien hôtel de Beauffort, aujourd'hui collège Jehan Bodel is currently closed to visitors.