ClasséAbbey · protected 1840Ancienne abbayePart of the building is protectedPhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancienne abbaye · Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.01historic monument
History of Lessay · Monuments historiques
1 historic monument, 1 classé
Since 1840, the monument in Lessay has been on the list. It dates from the 11th century.
Monuments historiques
1
Classé
1
the highest protection
Inscrit
0
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
9.1%
median compared town 7.4%
Map
Where Lessay’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
1 monuments by protection
1 Classé
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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
Classé
One classé monument in Lessay
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 1 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Lessay
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lessay | 2,278 | 1 | 1 | — |
| La Haye | 4,029 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Saint-Sauveur-Villages | 3,208 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Gouville-sur-Mer | 3,274 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Port-Bail-sur-Mer | 2,520 | 4 | 2 | — |
| Coutances | 8,321 | 17 | 5 | Yes |
| Picauville | 3,228 | 4 | 1 | — |
In brief
Lessay in brief
The record in Lessay starts with Ancienne abbaye, which dates from the 11th century. In all there are 1 historic monument, 1 of them classé, including Ancienne abbaye. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: Georges Desdevises Du Dézert (1854) and Octave Navarre (1864) were born here before 1900; its only entry went on the list in 1840; and 9.1% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Lessay
How many historic monuments are there in Lessay?
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Lessay: 1 classé and 0 inscrit.
Which monuments in Lessay are classé?
One: Ancienne abbaye.
How old are the homes in Lessay?
9.1% 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 October 30, 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.