ClasséChâteau · protected 1862Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romainPart of the building is protectedPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancienne abbaye Saint-Vincent · Photo: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr35historic monuments
History of Senlis · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 1965, and 35 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 35 historic monuments in Senlis: 13 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 22 inscrit (the second level). That’s 23 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 96% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from Antiquity. We have photos of 29 of them.
Monuments historiques
35
23 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
13
the highest protection
Inscrit
22
the second level
Oldest part
Antiquity
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
14%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Senlis in 29 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ArènesClassé
Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romainClassé
Église Saint-PierreClassé
Domaine de Valgenceuse, à VillemetrieClassé
Église Saint-AignanClassé+24See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Protected area
Senlis has had a protected historic area since 1965
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR32-23 | Secteur sauvegardé September 20, 1965 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) February 18, 2002 |
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. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Map
Where Senlis’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romain
9 of 13classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romain, with 22 of the town’s 35 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
35 monuments by protection
13 Classé22 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
13 classé monuments in Senlis
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 7 of the 13 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Bishop’s palace · protected 1964Ancien évêchéPart of the building is protectedPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1933Ancien Hôtel de VermandoisPart of the building is protectedPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1933Hôtel du HaubergierPart of the building is protectedPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséAbbey · protected 1862Ancienne abbaye Saint-VincentPart of the building is protectedPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHospital · protected 1942Ancien Hôpital de la CharitéPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChâteau · protected 1942Domaine de Valgenceuse, à VillemetriePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Mel22 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséCathedral · protected 1840Ancienne cathédrale et son chapîtrePhoto: Zinneke sur Wikipédia luxembourgeois · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséChurch · protected 1862Église Saint-FrambourgPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséBuilding · protected 1949Immeuble, 23 rue de BeauvaisPart of the building is protectedPhoto: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
22 inscrit monuments in Senlis
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 22, A to Z
57 bornes armoriées en forêt d’HalatteAbbaye de la VictoireAncien couvent de la PrésentationAncien Hôtel-DieuAncien séminaireAncienne chantrerie Saint-RieulAncienne poste aux chevauxCouvent des CarmesEnceinte gallo-romaineGare de SenlisHôtel de la ChancellerieHôtel de RasseHôtel de villeHôtel des Trois-PotsHôtel du FlamandHôtel particulierHôtels Germain, Regnard et BrusléMaison dite Hôtel de la MarineMaison, 15 rue du ChâtelPavillon Saint-MartinPorte de MeauxTour d'enceinte du Moyen-Age
1 more, named only by its kind
One more is named in the list only by its kind: 1 house (maison). The one with an address is in the list above, by it.
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Senlis
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes14
Public & civic8
Religious buildings7
Military & fortified2
Bridges & engineering2
Shops & trade1
Houses & homes: 14 of 35 monuments (40%). 7 are religious buildings, 5 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.
How old
How old Senlis’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.4
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.7
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution11
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19011
11 of 23 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romain (12th–18th c.). 12 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Senlis’ list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1933 · 6
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne cathédrale et son chapître. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 6 were protected in 1933 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
14% of homes in Senlis were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
14%
Before 1919
4.8%
1919–45
24%
1946–70
37%
1971–90
15%
1991–2005
4.6%
2006 on
SenlisMedian compared French town
14% 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 (37%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
12 people born in Senlis before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Antoine Baumé
Charles Christophe Leblanc
Adrien Jean Louis Dufresnoy
Charles de La Valette
Paul de Pasquier de Franclieu
Thomas Couture
Edmond Turquet
Jules-Adolphe Delmotte
André Paisant
Sylvestre Gérard Audet
Louis Robert de Beauchamp
Maurice Pardé
170017501800185019001950
AB
Antoine Baumé1728–1804 · French chemist
CL
Charles de La Valette1806–1881 · French politician
TC
Thomas Couture1815–1879 · French painter
SG
Sylvestre Gérard Audet1883–1972 · French soldier
CC
Charles Christophe Leblanc1731–1799 · French politician
AJ
Adrien Jean Louis Dufresnoy1747–1832 · French politician
PP
Paul de Pasquier de Franclieu1810–1877 · French politician
ET
Edmond Turquet1836–1914 · French politician
Everyone born in Senlis Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Senlis has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 14,700 to 15,600 residents, by historic monuments.
Senlis35
#4 of 41for monuments per resident (23 per 10,000). Most per resident: Paris 1er, Dinan and Fontainebleau.
The median town of these has 4. 4 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Senlis
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senlis | 15,157 | 35 | 13 | Yes |
| Chantilly | 10,591 | 7 | 3 | — |
| Verneuil-en-Halatte | 4,775 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Orry-la-Ville | 3,583 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Creil | 36,301 | 3 | 3 | — |
| La Chapelle-en-Serval | 3,084 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Maximin | 3,335 | 1 | 0 | — |
In brief
Senlis in brief
Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romain, from Antiquity, is the oldest monument in Senlis. In all there are 35 historic monuments, 13 of them classé, including Ancienne abbaye Saint-Vincent. Its old center has been a secteur sauvegardé since 1965. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 96% of compared French towns.
Its housing is old: 14% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Its classé monuments cluster together: 9 of them stand within 400 m of Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romain. The Mission Patrimoine has picked 3 of its monuments as heritage in danger to save, Ancien Hôtel de Vermandois first, in 2018.
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 Senlis
How many historic monuments are there in Senlis?
The Culture ministry lists 35 historic monuments in Senlis: 13 classé and 22 inscrit.
Which monuments in Senlis are classé?
13, among them Ancien château royal, prieuré Saint-Maurice et mur gallo-romain, Ancien évêché, Ancien Hôtel de Vermandois, Hôtel du Haubergier, Ancienne abbaye Saint-Vincent and Ancien Hôpital de la Charité.
How old are the monuments of Senlis?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from Antiquity.
Is Senlis a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Senlis has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1965.
When were monuments in Senlis first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Senlis?
14% 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.