The church of Saint-Martin, completed in the early 18th century, is one of the few remaining Baroque monuments in northern France. Before this church stood a Romanesque church dating from the thirteenth century which burned down in the seventeenth century. In 1794, the first Chappe telegraph, linking Lille to Paris, was installed on the platform of the tower until 1846.
The church of Saint-Martin was built on the site of an old church from the 11th century, dynamited by the Germans in 1917. The construction of the present church was entrusted to Maurice Boutterin and lasted from 1929 to 1932. The church is in Romano-Byzantine style and consists of a concrete framework covered with reconstituted stone for the exterior facings and slate for the roof. The columns and mullions of the bays are made of stone.
The Saint-Henri church was built in 1925 for the miners' towns of the Dourges mining company's pit no. 6 bis. The neo-classical style church is built in reinforced concrete. It is surmounted by a square bell tower on the right side of the facade, the right side of the roof being shorter than the left side of the facade. Like the bell tower, it is decorated with pilasters and dentils. The bell tower is surmounted by a balustrade. The semicircular porch is surmounted by a rose window.
The present church is a reconstruction of the former church destroyed in 1918. The only remnant of the pre-1918 church is the statue of the Virgin Mary found in the rubble of the post-World War I ruins. On 9 June 1923, the reconstruction project was accepted and signed by the mayor of Lens. Looking very much like the previous one, its location was moved back several metres as part of the widening of the Place Jean Jaurès. Faced with the risks generated by the mine galleries passing under the city, the structure is no longer made of stone but of reinforced concrete and the walls are thus less thick. The pulpit was inaugurated in 1928 and the large organs were completed in April 1930.
How is Religiana helping to conserve and promote Religious Heritage in Europe and why should you get involved?
Find out about Religiana
Are you a tourism organisation or religious heritage sites manager? Discover the advantages of becoming a partner.
See current partners
We can keep you up to date with the latest news from Religiana and religious heritage conservation across Europe.
Sign up to the FRH newsletter