The (, ''

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

'') is a historic building in

Lens, Pas-de-Calais Lens (; ) is a city in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of the main towns of Hauts-de-France along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras and Douai. The inhabitants are called ''Lensois'' (). Metro ...

, northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, standing on the Place Jean Jaurès.

History

The first town hall

In the early 19th century, the town council decided to commission a town hall. The site it selected was on the south side of the main square, now known as Place Jean Jaurès, just to the west of the l'Église Saint-Léger. It was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone and was completed in 1822. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto the main square. The central section of three bays, which was slightly projected forward, featured a short flight of steps leading up to a round headed doorway with a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window (transom window), often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing (window), glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open Hand fan, fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, ...

flanked by two niches; there were three

casement window A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a c ...

s on the first floor. The bays in the central section were flanked by

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s on both floors: the ground floor pilasters supported an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

, while the first floor pilasters supported another entablature and a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

. The outer bays were fenestrated by round headed windows on the ground floor and by casement windows on the first floor. There were two small

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...

windows and a central

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

at roof level. The flight of steps was removed and replaced by a forestair in August 1908.

The second town hall

In the early 20th century, following significant population growth associated with the local

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry, the town council, led by the mayor, Émile Basly, decided to demolish the old building and to erect a more elaborate structure. The foundation stone for the second town hall was laid on 27 May 1913. The new building was designed by Jean Goniaux in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, built in red brick with stone finishings and was completed in late 1914. The design again involved a symmetrical main frontage of five bays facing onto Place Jean Jaurès. The central section of three bays featured three round headed doors flanked by

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

supporting imposts and

voussoir A voussoir ( UK: ; US: ) is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.“Voussoir, N., Pronunciation.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/7553486115. Acces ...

s. On the first floor, there were three

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

ed and transomed windows leading out onto a

balustraded A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

. The outer bays were fenestrated by pairs of squared headed windows surmounted by pairs of segmental headed windows on the ground floor, and by pairs of casement windows leading out onto ornate semi-circular balconies on the first floor. At roof level, there was a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

and a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

, two

windows and a central dormer-style panel with a clock face surmounted by a pediment and

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s. There was also an imposing central belfry. The statues on either side of the clock and the

caryatid A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient t ...

s on the semi-circular balconies were all designed by the sculptor, Augustin Lesieux, while the stained glass windows were the work of Alfred Labille. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber which featured a mural of the coronation of Maria Godart as the miners' muse, i.e. their heroine, in 1913. The second town hall was destroyed by a German mine in April 1917 during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Such was the devastation that the president,

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. He was a conservative leader, primarily committed to ...

, awarded the town the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

during a visit in December 1919. The second town hall was then rebuilt, using the original plans, in the same style and officially re-opened in 1927. The town hall was then badly damaged again by allied bombing in June 1944 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The allied offensive left 500 people dead and 1,000 buildings completely destroyed in Lens.

The third town hall

In 1956, the town council decided to demolish the ruins of the second town hall, and to commission a new town hall on the same site. The initial proposal was to rebuild the second town hall in the same style. However, this proposal was opposed, most insensitively, by the Houilleres du Bassin et du Pas-de-Calais (en: ''Coal mines of Bassin and Pas-de-Calais'') who wanted to exploit a rich seam of coal under the site. The third town hall was designed by Jean de Mailly in the modern style, built in concrete and glass, and was officially opened by the French member of parliament, Ernest Schaffner, on 14 February 1965. The structure consisted of a six-storey tower sitting on a two-storey

podium A podium (: podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of a ...

. The tower was high and featured alternating columns of windows and dark cladding. A major programme of works, which involved creating a new glass foyer on the front of the podium, was carried out to a design by ADFL Architecture in 2019.

References

{{reflist Lens, Pas-de-Calais Government buildings completed in 1965 City and town halls in France 1965 establishments in France