ClasséChurch · protected 1914Ancienne église Saint-SavinienPhoto: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Hospice · Photo: Juliofsanguino · CC BY-SA 4.011historic monuments
History of Melle · Monuments historiques
11 historic monuments, 5 classé
Melle has 19 monuments for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 95% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The oldest monuments in Melle date from the 11th century. We have photos of 7 of Melle’s monuments.
Monuments historiques
11
19 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
5
the highest protection
Inscrit
6
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
20%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Melle in 7 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancien Palais de Justice, ancien Hôtel de MénocClassé
Église Saint-PierreClassé
Ancienne église Saint-SavinienClassé
Église Saint-HilaireClassé
Château de MelzéardInscrit+2See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Map
Where Melle’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancien Palais de Justice, ancien Hôtel de Ménoc
4 of 5classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancien Palais de Justice, ancien Hôtel de Ménoc, with 5 of the town’s 11 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
11 monuments by protection
5 Classé6 Inscrit
Classé is the higher protection: any work on the building needs the State’s permission. Work on an inscrit building must be declared to the State in advance. Around both, building work in sight of the monument (usually within 500 m) needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
Points as the ministry gives them: a monument spread over several plots has one point.
Classé
5 classé monuments in Melle
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 5 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
ClasséPublic building · protected 1911Ancien Palais de Justice, ancien Hôtel de MénocPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Christophe Vigneron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHospital · protected 1913HospicePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Juliofsanguino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
6 inscrit monuments in Melle
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritPresbytery · protected 1990Ancienne cure ou ancien Archiprêtré de MellePart of the building is protected
Château · protected 1990Château de GagemontPart of the building is protected
House · protected 2023Maison Art Nouveau
Industrial building · protected 2023Minoterie de Gennebrie
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Melle
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings4
Houses & homes4
Public & civic2
Industrial1
Religious buildings: 4 of 11 monuments (36%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Melle’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.7
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution1
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
7 of 9 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne église Saint-Savinien (11th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Melle
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-128 | ZPPAUP August 21, 1996 | Still being drawn up |
A site patrimonial remarquable protects a whole area rather than one building: inside it, building work follows the area’s own plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
When protected
Melle’s list has grown since 1862
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1862: Église Saint-Pierre. 2 were protected in 1914 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
20% of homes in Melle were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
20%
Before 1919
7.2%
1919–45
16%
1946–70
32%
1971–90
15%
1991–2005
10%
2006 on
MelleMedian compared French town
20% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1971 and 1990 than in any other period (32%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
7 people born in Melle before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Louis Jacques d'Abbaye
Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Auguis
Jean-Louis Fournier
Marie-Clément de Reignié
Léopold Goirand
Joseph Avenol
Edmond Jollit
170017501800185019001950
JA
Joseph Avenol1879–1952 · French diplomat
LJ
Louis Jacques d'Abbaye1735–1818 · French politician
PJ
Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Auguis1747–1810 · French politician
JL
Jean-Louis Fournier1774–1847 · general in the French Army
MC
Marie-Clément de Reignié1827–1885 · French politician
LG
Léopold Goirand1845–1926 · French politician
EJ
Edmond Jollit1886–1967 · French politician
Everyone born in Melle Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Melle has the 2nd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 5,700 to 5,800 residents, by historic monuments.
Melle11
#2 of 41for monuments per resident (19 per 10,000). Most per resident: Saint-Martin-la-Pallu, Melle and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.
The median town of these has 2. 13 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Melle
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melle | 5,752 | 11 | 5 | Yes |
| Celles-sur-Belle | 3,829 | 4 | 4 | Yes |
| Aigondigné | 4,710 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Vouillé | 3,566 | 1 | 0 | — |
| La Crèche | 5,662 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Maixent-l'École | 7,595 | 5 | 3 | — |
| Aiffres | 5,419 | 2 | 1 | — |
In brief
Melle in brief
For its size, Melle has more historic monuments than 95% of compared French towns. In all there are 11 historic monuments, 5 of them classé. Église Saint-Hilaire is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of its homes, 20% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ancien Palais de Justice, ancien Hôtel de Ménoc sits at the heart of it all, with 4 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Only one of the 41 towns nearest its size has more historic monuments. Of the 9 with a date, 7 come from the Middle Ages.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Monuments historiques. France protects buildings at two levels. Classé, the higher (about a third of the list), means any work needs the State’s permission; inscrit means work must be declared to the State in advance. The Culture ministry’s Mérimée base lists every protected building, and this page counts them.
- Partly protected. Many entries protect part of a building only (its façades and roofs, a staircase, a painted room). Each counts as one monument, like a fully protected one.
- Where a monument is counted. In the commune named on its protection, moved to today’s commune where communes have since merged. A monument listed for several communes counts in each.
- Sites patrimoniaux remarquables. Since 2016 France’s protected historic areas (the former secteurs sauvegardés, ZPPAUP and AVAP) share one name. Inside one, building work follows the area’s plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
- What isn’t here. Protected objects (furniture, organs, paintings), old buildings with no protection, UNESCO World Heritage listings and labels such as “Plus Beaux Villages de France” aren’t on this list, so this page doesn’t count them.
- No History Grade yet. Everything on this page is described, not graded: France’s History Grade isn’t built yet.
Questions about the history of Melle
How many historic monuments are there in Melle?
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Melle: 5 classé and 6 inscrit.
Which monuments in Melle are classé?
5, among them Ancienne église Saint-Savinien, Église Saint-Hilaire, Église Saint-Pierre and Ancien Palais de Justice, ancien Hôtel de Ménoc.
How old are the monuments of Melle?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Melle a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Melle is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Melle first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Melle?
20% of its main homes were built before 1919 (median compared French town: 7.4%).
France has no History Grade yet: this page describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sources: Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée base on POP (immeubles protégés au titre des monuments historiques), October 2026 · Ministère de la Culture, sites patrimoniaux remarquables, October 2026 · INSEE, census 2023 (main homes by build period) · Wikidata and Wikipedia (people born here) · Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata (photos of the monuments, each with its own credit and license) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.