ClasséTown house · protected 1947Ancien Hôtel de BeaulaincourtPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Magnus the Great · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancien Hôtel de Beaulaincourt · Photo: Magnus the Great · CC BY-SA 3.016historic monuments
History of Béthune · Monuments historiques
16 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2000
The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Béthune: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 13 inscrit (the second level). That’s 6.3 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 75% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 14th century. We have photos of 13 of them.
Monuments historiques
16
6.3 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
13
the second level
Oldest part
14th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
3.5%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Béthune in 13 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Hôtel de villeClassé
BeffroiClassé
Monument aux mortsInscrit
Ancienne caserne ChamborsInscrit
Ancienne tour Saint-IgnaceInscrit+8See 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
Béthune has had a protected historic area since 2000
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR32-26 | ZPPAUP January 20, 2000 | AVAP (heritage area rules) July 5, 2016 |
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.
Map
Where Béthune’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancien Hôtel de Beaulaincourt
3 of 3classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancien Hôtel de Beaulaincourt, with 11 of the town’s 16 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
16 monuments by protection
3 Classé13 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
3 classé monuments in Béthune
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 3 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséInscrit
13 inscrit monuments in Béthune
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 13, A to Z
3 more, named only by their kind
3 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 buildings (immeubles) and 1 house (maison), most from the 20th century. The 3 with an address are in the list above, by it.
16th c.1
20th c.2
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Béthune
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes4
Public & civic3
Religious buildings2
Military & fortified2
Tombs & cemeteries1
Shops & trade1
Houses & homes: 4 of 16 monuments (25%). 2 are religious buildings.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Béthune’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.2
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution4
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19014
2 of 11 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne tour Saint-Ignace (14th & 17th c.). 5 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
4 of Béthune’s monuments were protected in 2001
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
186018801900192019401960198020002020
The first was protected in 1862. 4 were protected in 2001 alone. 4 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
3.5% of homes in Béthune were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
3.5%
Before 1919
17%
1919–45
30%
1946–70
23%
1971–90
16%
1991–2005
11%
2006 on
BéthuneMedian compared French town
3.5% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (30%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Towns its size
Béthune has the 10th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 24,000 to 26,500 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Béthune
In brief
Béthune in brief
Per resident, Béthune has more historic monuments than 75% of compared French towns. In all there are 16 historic monuments, 3 of them classé. Ancien Hôtel de Beaulaincourt sits at the heart of it all, with 3 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Only 9 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2000. Its homes are mostly newer: 3.5% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. The oldest, Ancienne tour Saint-Ignace, dates from the 14th century.
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 Béthune
How many historic monuments are there in Béthune?
The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Béthune: 3 classé and 13 inscrit.
Which monuments in Béthune are classé?
3, among them Ancien Hôtel de Beaulaincourt and Hôtel de ville.
How old are the monuments of Béthune?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 14th century.
Is Béthune a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Béthune has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2000.
When were monuments in Béthune first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Béthune?
3.5% 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) · 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 4, 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.