Closed since March 2022, the Belfry Museum Boucher de Perthes – Manessier in Abbeville (Somme) will begin a work campaign. It should reopen enlarged and enriched with a new exhibition route at the end of 2028 or the beginning of 2029.
The Belfry Museum Boucher de Perthes-Manessier d’Abbeville is the result of the merger of two Abbeville establishments created in the 19th century: the Abbeville and Ponthieu Museum founded in 1833 by the Abbeville Emulation Society, and the former Boucher de Perthes Museum which housed the personal collection of archaeologist Jacques Boucher de Perthes (1788-1868). In 1954, after the destruction caused by the war, the current museum was installed in a building rebuilt around the remains of the old town hall, of which the belfry remains, built in 1209 and listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, and the treasury which notably housed the city archives.
The museum preserves nearly 80,000 works, from archaeological remains to fine arts, including drawings and engravings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905) donated more than twenty pieces by artists of the time to the museum. This set includes sculptures by Camille Claudel (1864-1943). In 2001 and 2019, the institution received a significant donation of works by Alfred Manessier (1911-1993), from his widow and then his children. Artist of the School of Paris and abstract painter, Alfred Manessier spent his childhood in the city. He is also the author of the stained glass windows of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Abbeville.
Led by the Toulouse agency W-Architectures, the work will be carried out in four phases until its opening:
- September 2023 to December 2024: preliminary project management projects and project studies
- March 2025 to March 2026: preventive archaeological excavations
- April to December 2025: restoration of the belfry
- July 2025 to December 2028: rehabilitation and extension works
The extension should enlarge the premises, which will increase from 2,000 to 3,400 m2. The Bay of Somme tourist office will also be integrated into the reception structure which will also include a shop and a tea room. The spaces will be brought up to standard so that they are accessible to people with disabilities, and the conservation conditions will be upgraded, as well as the creation of a more eco-responsible, less energy-consuming museum. The museum tour will be redesigned around five major themes including the history of the collection of Jacques Boucher de Perthes, the works of Alfred Manessier and the history of the city.
The total budget for the construction project is estimated in 2023 at 12.6 million euros, financed by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), the Hauts-de-France Region and the Somme Department.
Thanks to this renovation, the mayor of the city, Pascal Demarthe, intends to revitalize the tourist center by integrating the Baie de Somme tourist office within the structure and by reaffirming the historical importance of Abbeville, its belfry and its museum, no longer only as a showcase for old donations, but also more recent ones. In 2019, the conditions of the Alfred Manessier donation implied, in return, the creation of a space dedicated to him, as well as the addition of the artist’s name to the name of the museum.
