Misplaced Pages

Hôtel de Ville, Noyon

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Town hall in Noyon, France

Hôtel de Ville
The main frontage of the Hôtel de Ville in July 2020
General information
TypeCity hall
Architectural styleGothic style
LocationNoyon, France
Coordinates49°34′49″N 3°00′02″E / 49.5803°N 3.0005°E / 49.5803; 3.0005
Completed1520
Design and construction
Architect(s)Matthieu Réaulme

The Hôtel de Ville (French pronunciation: [otɛl də vil], City Hall) is a municipal building in Noyon, Oise, northern France, standing Place Bertrand Lebarre. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 2004.

History

The first municipal building in the town dated back at least to the 13th century. It was rebuilt several times but, by 1480, it was very dilapidated and the civil leaders decided to demolish it and to commission a new building on the same site. The new building was designed by Matthieu Réaulme in the Gothic style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1520.

The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage of seven bays facing onto what is now Place Bertrand Lebarre. The second bay on the left featured an oval-headed opening flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature and a cornice. The bay to the left was fenestrated by a mullioned window, while the bays to the right were fenestrated by small arched windows. The first floor was fenestrated by seven mullioned windows separated by nine niches. The niches probably accommodated statues of Hector, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus, King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon. At roof level, there was an entablature punctuated by five oculi, a frieze, a cornice and a semi-circular pediment containing a clock. There was also an octagonal turret.

The building was badly damaged during the Spanish invasion of 1552, part of the Habsburg-Valois War, and was restored in 1567. During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries tore down a fleur-de-lis from the turret. The building was badly damaged by the occupying German troops, who started a fire there on the night of 26 May 1918, during the German spring offensive, part of the First World War. A ceremony was held in front of the shattered town hall on 11 July 1920, at which Marshal Joseph Joffre presented the Legion of Honour to representatives of the town council. This event was later depicted in a painting which was hung inside the building. A extensive programme of restoration works, involving a new concrete frame to support the walls, was completed to a design by André Collin on 30 October 1935.

A fine manuscript, known as the Évangéliaire de Morienval (the Morienval Gospel Book), which was produced at Hautvillers Abbey in the 9th century, was acquired in the late 19th century, and subsequently placed on display in the library. A plaster cast of a statue depicting the sculptor, Jacques Sarazin, was created in the mid-20th century and placed in the vestibule of the town hall.

Refererences

  1. Base Mérimée: PA60000019, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  2. ^ "Hôtel de Ville de Noyon". Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel – Région Hauts-de-France. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Focus: Hôtel de Ville de Noyon" (PDF). Ville et Pays D'Art et D'Histoire. p. 8. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  4. "Hôtel de Ville, Noyon, Elevation with a detail and plan of the central turret". Royal Institute of British Architects. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  5. "Postcard representing the ruins of the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville of Noyon (North of France) after the WWI bombings". Alamy. 1918. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  6. "La reconstruction de Noyon". Images de Picardie. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  7. "Tableau : Remise de la Légion d'honneur à la ville de Noyon, 11 juillet 1920". Ministère de la Culture. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  8. "Manuscrit: Evangéliaire de Morienval". Ministère de la Culture. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  9. "L'Évangéliaire de Morienval". L'Armarium. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  10. "Monument to Jacques Sarrazin – Noyon". e-monumen. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  11. "Noyon". Aux pays de mes ancêtres. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
Categories: