ClasséTown walls · protected 1889Remparts gallo-romainsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre · Photo: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.027historic monuments
History of Beauvais · Monuments historiques
27 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
The Culture ministry lists 27 historic monuments in Beauvais: 16 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 11 inscrit (the second level). That’s 4.9 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 69% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 25 of them.
Monuments historiques
27
4.9 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
16
the highest protection
Inscrit
11
the second level
Oldest part
Antiquity
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8.3%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Beauvais in 25 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne abbaye Saint-QuentinClassé
Ancien Bureau des PauvresClassé
église Saint-ÉtienneClassé
Église Notre-Dame de MarisselClassé
Ancien palais épiscopal, ancien palais de justice, actuellement musée départemental de l'OiseClassé+20See 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 Beauvais’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.9
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution4
19th century 1801–19002
20th century and later since 19011
10 of 17 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Remparts gallo-romains (3rd c.). 10 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Beauvais’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Pierre
6 of 16classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Pierre, with 10 of the town’s 27 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
27 monuments by protection
16 Classé11 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. 4 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
16 classé monuments in Beauvais
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 7 of the 16 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséAbbey · protected 1963Ancienne abbaye Saint-QuentinPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1913Église Notre-Dame de MarisselPhoto: JmDeBovet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséAbbey · protected 1930Ancienne abbaye Saint-Lucien, à Notre-Dame-du-ThilPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Tavernier de Jonquières · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséPublic building · protected 1939Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare, à VoisinlieuPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Guillaume de clermont 60 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1846église Saint-ÉtiennePhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1987Ancien Bureau des PauvresPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChapel · protected 1930Chapelle du cimetière de Notre-Dame-du-ThilPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1862Ancien palais épiscopal, ancien palais de justice, actuellement musée départemental de l'OisePhoto: Sokoljan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséReligious building · protected 1927Cloître de la cathédrale et de l'ancien muséePhoto: KLIMM Marina, association ESPACES · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1840Église de la Basse-OeuvrePhoto: Antoine Garnier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown hall · protected 1912Hôtel de villePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Lppa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséBuilding · protected 1932Immeuble, 8 rue Cyprien-DesgrouxPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
House · protected 1979Maison Gréber
Inscrit
11 inscrit monuments in Beauvais
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritFarm · protected 1992Ferme du Gros ChênePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChapel · protected 2022Chapelle de l’archiconfrérie Saint-Joseph de BeauvaisPhoto: This illustration was made by Peter Potrowl . · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritChurch · protected 1930Ancienne église Saint-BarthelemyPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 1996Maison, 4-6 rue de l'Ecole-de-ChantPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Jean de l'Auxois · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 1932Maison, 52 rue GambettaPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1933Maison, 70 rue de la MadeleinePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Chatsam · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
House · protected 2022Maison à pans de bois
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Beauvais
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings11
Houses & homes11
Public & civic2
Military & fortified1
Religious buildings: 11 of 27 monuments (41%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
When protected
Beauvais’ list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre and Église de la Basse-Oeuvre. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 4 were protected in 1930 alone. 3 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
57 people born in Beauvais before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Ernulf
Albéric d'Ostie
Jeanne Hachette
Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Antoine Caron
Claude Gouyne
Jean Rabel
Raoul Adrien
Jean Paumart
Pierre Louvet
Jean-Baptiste Dubos
Nicolas Lenglet Du Fresnoy
Pierre Du Mage
François Watrin
Auguste-Lucien Vérité
Léontine Suétens
Henri-Léon Lebesgue
Marcel Communeau
Léonce Corne
Michel Saint-Denis
1050120013501500165018001950
E
Ernulf1040–1124 · Bishop of Rochester; Abbot of Peterborough
Ad
Albéric d'Ostie1080–1148 · Catholic cardinal
JH
Jeanne Hachette1454– · French heroine
PV
Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam1464–1534 · Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
AC
Antoine Caron1521–1599 · French painter
PL
Pierre Louvet1617–1684 · 17th-century French historian
JB
Jean-Baptiste Dubos1670–1742 · French clerks regular, diplomat, historian and writer
NL
Nicolas Lenglet Du Fresnoy1674–1755 · French translator and writer
Everyone born in Beauvais Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Beauvais has the 9th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 51,000 to 60,500 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Beauvais
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beauvais | 55,550 | 27 | 16 | — |
| Auneuil | 2,898 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Bresles | 4,029 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Noailles | 2,877 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Sainte-Geneviève | 3,505 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Crèvecœur-le-Grand | 3,462 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Andeville | 3,434 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Beauvais in brief
The record in Beauvais starts with Remparts gallo-romains, which dates from Antiquity. All told, the list holds 27 historic monuments, 16 of them classé. Its classé monuments cluster together: 6 of them stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. In 2018 the Mission Patrimoine picked Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare, à Voisinlieu as a monument in danger to save.
Only 8 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the 17 with a date, 9 come from the Middle Ages. Ernulf (1040), Albéric d'Ostie (1080) and Jeanne Hachette (1454) are among the 57 people born here before 1900. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 8.3% 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 Beauvais
How many historic monuments are there in Beauvais?
The Culture ministry lists 27 historic monuments in Beauvais: 16 classé and 11 inscrit.
Which monuments in Beauvais are classé?
16, among them Remparts gallo-romains, Ancienne abbaye Saint-Quentin, Église Notre-Dame de Marissel, Ancienne abbaye Saint-Lucien, à Notre-Dame-du-Thil, Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare, à Voisinlieu and église Saint-Étienne.
How old are the monuments of Beauvais?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from Antiquity.
When were monuments in Beauvais first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2022.
How old are the homes in Beauvais?
8.3% 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.