The Château de Ham (also called fort or forteresse de Ham) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

in the Somme ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...

, France.

History

The early castle, whose construction date is unknown, is mentioned in a 1052 charter. During the 13th century, it was restored by Odon IV of Ham who gave the fortress its definitive shape, a polygonal

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. Fo ...

broken up by large cylindrical towers. Enguerrand de Coucy bought the

seigneury ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

in 1380 and his daughter sold it in 1400 to Louis d' Orléans, who integrated it into his network of fortresses which included

La Ferté-Milon La Ferté-Milon () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, northern France. Geography La Ferté-Milon is situated on the river Ourcq, 27 km southwest of Soissons and 30 km northeast of Meaux. La Ferté-Milon station ...

, Pierrefonds and

Fère-en-Tardenois Fère-en-Tardenois (, literally ''Fère in Tardenois'') is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is named for the Tardenois region. Population Personalities It was the birthplace of Camille Claudel (18 ...

. Louis began the reconstruction, perfected after 1418 by

John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny (1392 – 5 January 1441) was a French nobleman and soldier, a younger son of John of Luxembourg, Lord of Beauvoir, and Marguerite of Enghien. His older brother Peter received his mother's fiefs, includ ...

, who acquired the seigneury following Louis' assassination. John's nephew,

Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano (1418 – 19 December 1475) belonged to the Ligny branch of the House of Luxemburg and was Constable of France. Life Saint-Pol was the eldest son of Peter of Luxembou ...

and constable to

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

in 1465, constructed a monumental

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

in 1441. This massive tower (the ''tour du connétable'' - constable's tower) was 33 m (~108 ft) in diameter and 33 m (~108 ft) high and had walls 11 m (~36 ft) thick. The Château de Ham was besieged several times, notably by

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

in 1557. United with the French crown under the reign of

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

, it was transformed at the end of the 17th century by Vauban. The castle was later turned into a state prison. It 'welcomed' many famous prisoners, the last of whom was Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (the future

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

) who, after six years, escaped by adopting the identity of a painter, Badinguet. Later, his opponents would often refer to him disparagingly as Badinguet In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, the Second Army of the North encircled the town of Ham and forced the occupying

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

ns to sign a surrender. Like the Château de Coucy, the fort was dynamited on 19 March 1917, by the Germans. All that remains today is the square plan entrance tower and parts of its network of enceintes. These picturesque ruins dominate the peaceful course of the

Canal de la Somme The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon. History The Somme River was canalized begi ...

. The castle has been listed since 1965 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visua ...

Notable prisoners held at Ham

Jacques Cassard Jacques Cassard (30 September 1679 – 1740) was a French naval officer and privateer. Biography Born on 30 September 1679 to a family of merchants of Nantes, Cassard began a career as a sailor at age 14 on the merchantmen owned by his fa ...

, French pirate *

Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...

* Marshal Moncey *

Martial de Guernon-Ranville Count Martial Côme Annibal Perpétue Magloire de Guernon-Ranville (2 May 1787 – 30 November 1866) was a French magistrate and politician. He was Minister of Public Education and Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Jules de Polignac during the l ...

and

Jean de Chantelauze Jean Claude Balthazar Victor de Chantelauze (10 November 1787 – 10 August 1859) was a French lawyer and politician who was appointed Minister of Justice in the last weeks of the Bourbon Restoration. He lost his post in the July Revolution of 183 ...

, ministers of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

(1831-1836) * Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, future Napoléon III *

Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

References

* Charles Gomart: ''Ham, son château et ses prisonniers'', 1864, republished: La Vague Verte, 2000

External links

*
Château de Ham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Chateau de Castles in Hauts-de-France Chateau Ham Ruins in Hauts-de-France