Ancienne chartreuse des Dames
Abbey
Ancienne chartreuse des Dames, located in Gosnay (Pas-de-Calais), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Abbey
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Gosnay, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.5082, 2.5788
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108292
Nestling in the Pas-de-Calais region, the former Carthusian monastery of the Dames de Gosnay is a 17th and 18th century monastic treasure, where Carthusian austerity is adorned with surprising classical elegance.
History
In the heart of the Pas-de-Calais coalfield, a few leagues from Béthune, the former Carthusian monastery of the Dames de Gosnay stands as an unexpected testimony to the contemplative life of women in northern France. Founded and developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this female Carthusian monastery - a rare institution in the Cartusian order traditionally reserved for men - boasts an architecture that combines monastic rigour and classical refinement in remarkable harmony. What makes this place truly unique is precisely its dual allegiance: to the strictest tradition of the order founded by Saint Bruno, and to the aristocratic art of living of the Grand Siècle. The women's Carthusian monasteries, sometimes called "ladies' priories", enjoyed a degree of autonomy in their management and a relative level of comfort, reflected in their architecture by more open buildings and more meticulous ornamentation than their male counterparts. To visit the Dames de Gosnay Charterhouse is to enter a space where time seems suspended. The sober volumes of the conventual buildings contrast with the softness of the surrounding Artesian landscape, with its meadows and hedged farmland that have hardly changed since the nuns led their life of prayer and silence there. In 1986, the monastery was listed as a Historic Monument, saving it from the disappearance that the 20th century industrial revolution had made plausible in a region profoundly transformed by mining. The setting at Gosnay retains something of the deep Artois, far removed from the clamour of the neighbouring slag heaps, as if the Carthusian monastery had managed to preserve a bubble of serenity around it. Lovers of monastic heritage, enthusiasts of classical northern architecture and photographers in search of soft light on ancient facades will find this a precious, confidential stopover, far from the tourist crowds.
Architecture
The architecture of the Chartreuse des Dames de Gosnay is a perfect illustration of the way in which the art of building in Northern France in the 17th and 18th centuries interpreted the great classical models while retaining a sobriety inherited from Flemish and Artesian traditions. The façades, made of brick and bluestone or limestone - materials typical of regional buildings - feature regular bays punctuated by horizontal bands and quoins, creating an elegant, measured rhythm typical of northern classicism. The layout, in line with the Cartusian rules adapted to women's communities, organises the space around a central cloister that distributes the nuns' individual cells, each with its own private garden in accordance with the rule of Saint Bruno - a rule that gives the Carthusian monasteries their appearance of small inner cities. The conventual church, whose orientation and proportions were in keeping with the Cartusian liturgy, was to have a single nave with no excessive embellishments, as the Cartusian rule prohibited overly ostentatious ornamentation. The 18th-century buildings add a more ornate touch: pedimented dormers, moulded window frames and monumental entrance porches bear witness to the period's taste for a certain discreet magnificence. The steeply pitched roofs, covered in tiles or slate depending on the building, are in keeping with the construction tradition of northern France, giving the ensemble a characteristic silhouette that can be found in the grand residences and religious institutions of Artois and French Flanders.
Related Figures
Saint Bruno (1030-1101) — fondateur de l'ordre des Chartreux, dont la règle austère a dicté l'organisation spatiale et spirituelle de toutes les chartreuses, dont celle de GosnayReligieuses cartusiennes de Gosnay — communauté anonyme de moniales contemplatives qui animèrent le prieuré du XVIIe siècle jusqu'à la RévolutionFamilles nobles artésiennes fondatrices — aristocrates locaux du Pas-de-Calais dont le mécénat et les donations permirent l'établissement et le développement de la chartreuseAdministrateurs révolutionnaires du district de Béthune (1790) — acteurs de la suppression des ordres contemplatifs et de la mise en vente des biens nationaux qui scella le destin monastique du siteInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1986) — experts qui instruisirent et signèrent l'arrêté d'inscription protégeant définitivement l'ensemble conventuel
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne chartreuse des Dames located?
Ancienne chartreuse des Dames is located in Gosnay, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Ancienne chartreuse des Dames built?
Ancienne chartreuse des Dames dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne chartreuse des Dames open to visitors?
Ancienne chartreuse des Dames is currently closed to visitors.