Question 1

What is the history of Château de Ham?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham began as a medieval fortress in the 11th century, guarding the town of Ham in the Somme. It was restored in the 13th century, reconstructed from 1400 under Louis d’Orléans and John II of Luxembourg, and given its monumental keep in 1441 by Louis de Luxembourg. It later became a state prison and was largely demolished in 1917.

Question 2

What is inside Château de Ham?

Accepted Answer

Inside Château de Ham, the documented surviving interior is the gate passage through the entrance tower. The former fortress also contained an inner bailey and a large residential building within the enceinte, where Marie de Luxembourg lived and her children were born. Much of the interior was destroyed when the castle was dynamited in 1917.

Question 3

Why was Château de Ham built, and what was it used for?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham was built as a fortress to guard the town of Ham. Its defensive role included a polygonal enceinte, cylindrical towers, a deep defensive ditch and a monumental keep designed to withstand artillery fire. It was later transformed by Vauban in the late 17th century and subsequently used as a state prison.

Question 4

Where is Château de Ham?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham is in Ham, in the Somme département of Hauts-de-France. It stands beside the Canal de la Somme, whose course the surviving ruins dominate. Ham is the nearest town, and the castle is located in the commune of Ham.

Question 5

When was Château de Ham built?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham was first raised in the 11th century, with 1052 given as its first-raised year. The fortress was restored in the 13th century, reconstructed in the early 15th century and enlarged with its monumental keep in 1441. Its construction and alteration therefore took place in several medieval phases rather than in a single campaign.

Question 6

Was Château de Ham ever attacked or besieged?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham was besieged several times, notably by Philip II of Spain in 1557. The supplied accounts do not state the outcome of that siege or of the other attacks. The castle was later affected by the Franco-Prussian War, when the town of Ham was encircled in 1870 and the occupying Prussians surrendered.

Question 7

Which family or clan held Château de Ham?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham was held by the Coucy and Luxembourg families. Enguerrand de Coucy bought the seigneury in 1380, and his daughter sold it in 1400. John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny, acquired it after 1418; his nephew Louis, Count of Saint-Pol, built the great keep in 1441.

Question 8

What did Château de Ham look like in its prime?

Accepted Answer

In its prime, Château de Ham was a vast polygonal stone fortress with large cylindrical towers and a prominent square-plan entrance tower. Its monumental round keep was about 33 metres in diameter and 33 metres high, with walls roughly 11 metres thick. Pale limestone ashlar formed much of the masonry, and the castle stood beside the Canal de la Somme.

Question 9

Is Château de Ham still standing, or is it a ruin?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham is a ruin today, with only parts of the entrance tower and sections of the enceinte surviving. The castle was dynamited by the Germans on 19 March 1917 during the First World War. Its surviving remains include the square-plan entrance tower and parts of the fortification walls.

Question 10

Can you visit Château de Ham?

Accepted Answer

Château de Ham can be visited as a historic ruin. Visits by torchlight are organised during the summer, and the association working to preserve the remains organises activities and events at the castle. The surviving site is protected as a monument historique, listed since 1965.

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