Ferme d'en Bas de Flers
Monument
Ferme d'en Bas de Flers, located in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Nord), 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
- Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Nord, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.6358, 3.1330
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00107880
A stone and brick sentinel in the heart of Villeneuve-d'Ascq, the Ferme d'en Bas de Flers embodies Flemish rural architecture in all its robustness, and has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1951.
History
Nestling in the area around Villeneuve-d'Ascq, a town created by the merger of three former communes including Flers, the Ferme d'en Bas de Flers is one of the most eloquent reminders of traditional Flemish agriculture in a peri-urban environment. In a northern landscape long dominated by open fields and fortified farmyards, this building represents a precious survival of the agrarian organisation that structured rural life in French Flanders since the late Middle Ages. What makes this monument truly unique is its paradoxical location: wedged between the flow of the Lille metropolis and the modern ambitions of a laboratory town designed in the 1970s, the farm has resisted the tide of urbanisation. Listed as a Historic Monument as early as 1951, well before Villeneuve-d'Ascq was even created, it bears witness to the authorities' early awareness of this type of vernacular architecture, which is all too often sacrificed in favour of progress. The experience of visiting the building is one of an unexpected change of scenery: stepping into the courtyard is like leaving the noise of the boulevards behind to rediscover the silence and smell of ancient stone. The austere yet generous volumes of the farm buildings - barn, stable, dwelling - create an enclosed, reassuring space, typical of the Flemish farmyard. The local materials, brick and sandstone, give the whole a warm colour that is particularly enhanced by the low-angled light of the northern autumn. The surrounding setting, marked by the presence of the urban park and the former villages absorbed by Villeneuve-d'Ascq, offers visitors a layered reading of the history of the area: here, the agricultural past is in dialogue with the architectural modernity of the new town, creating a narrative tension that few sites manage to embody so clearly.
Architecture
La Ferme d'en Bas in Flers is a classic example of the Flemish enclosed courtyard farmhouse, an architectural type that is particularly widespread in northern France and Belgian Flanders. The square or U-shaped plan defines an inner courtyard protected from the prevailing winds, around which the various agricultural functions are organised hierarchically: the farmer's dwelling, generally facing south to benefit from maximum sunlight, the barn with its imposing timber frame, the stables and the stables. The buildings were constructed using vernacular materials from the region: reddish-orange terracotta brick, produced locally in the many brickworks in the Lille basin, was the main material used for the load-bearing walls. The lintels and corner ties can incorporate sandstone or Escaut limestone courses, providing a characteristic chromatic contrast. The roofs, with their pronounced gables, are covered with flat Flemish tiles - the "vermiculées" - which give the roofs the pinkish hue so recognisable in the northern landscape. The volumes are characterised by the functional robustness typical of Flemish agricultural architecture: thick walls, small openings and low-arched carriage gates to allow large hay carts to pass through. The overall impression is one of permanence and balance, consolidated by centuries of use, making this farmhouse a particularly well-preserved example of the rural heritage of the North.
Related Figures
Fermiers-propriétaires successifs de la famille Flers (XVIIe-XIXe siècle), gestionnaires de l'exploitation sur plusieurs générationsSeigneurs de Flers, anciens suzerains du territoire dont relevait la ferme sous l'Ancien RégimeInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1951), initiateurs de la procédure de classement qui sauva l'édificeUrbanistes de Villeneuve-d'Ascq (années 1970), qui intégrèrent la ferme dans le projet de ville nouvelle
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ferme d'en Bas de Flers located?
Ferme d'en Bas de Flers is located in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Nord department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Ferme d'en Bas de Flers built?
Ferme d'en Bas de Flers dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ferme d'en Bas de Flers open to visitors?
Ferme d'en Bas de Flers is currently closed to visitors.