Trélon, Calais 59132

In the centre of a small town in the Hauts-de-France, 8 km from the Belgian border, a vast brick and stone castle with its 20th century extension. Taking its name from an ancient mendicant order established in Syria, the castle was initially built to house a convent. Its construction began in 1724 and was completed in 1729, thanks to the financing obtained by the nuns from Duchess Marie-Clestine of Holstein-Rethwisch. In 1792, under the revolutionary fury, the exterior chapel and part of the cloister were destroyed then, from 1801 to 1863, the remaining buildings were rented by a private individual to the Nord department to house the gendarmerie and the prison and then bought in 1927 by the commune to transform them into a hospice, officially inaugurated in 1933. In the meantime, from 1873 to 1885, they were refurbished as a pleasure residence for the Moreau de la Tour-Godard-Desmaret family. Finally, from 1979 to 1983, as well as in 1989, the building was modernised and an extension was created to the south, partly demolished a few years ago.A porch with a slate roof provides access to the parklands, located in front of the castle, to the east. The main faade, three storeys high, is characterized by its brick and stone fittings as well as by the symmetry of its central body. A scrolled pediment and two balconies were added in the second half of the 19th century. At the initial construction of 1724, on the western faade. In addition, the main building is topped with a three-sided slate roof topped with hipped dormers and a chimney stack. It is extended to the north by a wing with a square tower, topped by a slate hip roof crowned with zinc finials, and to the south by a wing topped with a similar roof. To the west, an old staircase with double stone entrances leads to the parklands. The latter, spread on either side of the castle building over approximately 7, 000 m, has grassy and wooded areas as well as a building area of some 1, 000 m.