ClasséTown hall · protected 1903Ancien Hôtel de villePhoto: Édition Catoen-Vermeulen; Mercerie - Cliché P. L. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
La Mairie, ancienne Châtellenie de Cassel · Photo: Daniel VILLAFRUELA . · CC BY-SA 3.010historic monuments
History of Cassel · Monuments historiques
10 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Cassel: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). That’s 45 for every 10,000 residents; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 10 of them.
Monuments historiques
10
45 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
5
the highest protection
Inscrit
5
the second level
Oldest part
Antiquity
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
28%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Cassel in 10 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Collégiale Notre-DameClassé
Château VandammeClassé
Ancien Hôtel de villeClassé
Ancien Collège des JésuitesClassé
Domaine de l'HamerhouckInscrit+5See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
How old
How old Cassel’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.1
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution2
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
2 of 5 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Jardin public du Moulin de Cassel (Antiquity). 5 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Cassel’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscrit
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
10 monuments by protection
5 Classé5 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. 2 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
5 classé monuments in Cassel
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.
ClasséSchool · protected 1981Ancien Collège des JésuitesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChâteau · protected 1980Château VandammePart of the building is protectedPhoto: M. T. I. L., pour Maurice Tesson Imprimeur Limoges · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1981Collégiale Notre-DamePhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown hall · protected 1910La Mairie, ancienne Châtellenie de CasselPhoto: Daniel VILLAFRUELA . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
5 inscrit monuments in Cassel
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritArchaeological site · protected 1969Jardin public du Moulin de CasselPhoto: Médard · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritMill · protected 1930Moulin de l'EtendardPhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChâteau · protected 1992Domaine de l'HamerhouckPhoto: Auteur anonyme ; éditeur inidentifiable · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritWhat’s protected
Most of Cassel’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes5
Public & civic2
Religious buildings1
Industrial1
Houses & homes: 5 of 10 monuments (50%). 1 is a religious building, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
When protected
2 of Cassel’s monuments were protected in 1981
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1903: Ancien Hôtel de ville. 2 were protected in 1981 alone. None has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
28% of homes in Cassel were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
28%
Before 1919
12%
1919–45
18%
1946–70
17%
1971–90
15%
1991–2005
8.9%
2006 on
CasselMedian compared French town
28% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished before 1919 than in any other period (28%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
5 people born in Cassel before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Grégoire Van Kempen
Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme
Martin Charles Gobrecht
Alexis Bafcop
Maurice Deschodt
170017501800185019001950
DJ
Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme1770–1830 · French general
GV
Grégoire Van Kempen1745–1812 · French politician
MC
Martin Charles Gobrecht1772–1845 · French officer
AB
Alexis Bafcop1804–1895 · French painter
MD
Maurice Deschodt1889–1971 · French painter
Everyone born in Cassel Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Cassel
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassel | 2,198 | 10 | 5 | — |
| Steenvoorde | 4,332 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Wormhout | 5,584 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Hazebrouck | 21,912 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Morbecque | 2,573 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Arques Pas-de-Calais | 9,431 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Vieux-Berquin | 2,628 | 2 | 0 | — |
In brief
Cassel in brief
Cassel’s oldest monument, Jardin public du Moulin de Cassel, dates from Antiquity. In all there are 10 historic monuments, 5 of them classé, including La Mairie, ancienne Châtellenie de Cassel. Its housing is old: 28% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Most entries on the list, 50%, are houses and homes. Of the 5 people born here before 1900, the best known include Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme (1770), Grégoire Van Kempen (1745) and Martin Charles Gobrecht (1772).
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 Cassel
How many historic monuments are there in Cassel?
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Cassel: 5 classé and 5 inscrit.
Which monuments in Cassel are classé?
5, among them Ancien Hôtel de ville, Ancien Collège des Jésuites, Château Vandamme, Collégiale Notre-Dame and La Mairie, ancienne Châtellenie de Cassel.
How old are the monuments of Cassel?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from Antiquity.
When were monuments in Cassel first protected?
The first in 1903, the latest in 1992.
How old are the homes in Cassel?
28% 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.