Jesuits Chapel, Saint Omer

Construction started in 1052. The work was not completed until 1486 with the erection of the spire of the transept crossing. The cathedral was closed to worship during the French Revolution: it was then transformed into a fodder store. Unlike many churches in France, it did not suffer from vandalism, looting or destruction.

Notre-Dame-de-Saint-Omer Cathedral, in Saint-Omer, was built in the 11th century and it became an important artistic and interlectual center. From the 13th century onwards I twas transformed and became an exceptional gothic building, one of the most sumptuous witnesses to gothic art, in the Northern Provinces.

The church of Saint-Denis is recognisable by its enormous 13th-century bell tower, the oldest in the North of France. The church was favoured by the Collège de Saint-Omer which was run by English Jesuits. Many English and American Catholic families sent their children there to study, despite Queen Elizabeth I's prohibition. The interiors are particularly rich in examples of numerous artistic movements from the 15th to the 19th century. Its classical barrel-vaulted sanctuary, interiors and furnishings date from an 18th-century reconstruction.