Discover Beaumetz: church, wayside crosses and local history

Beaumetz brings together religious art, memorials in the village and historic traces in the landscape. The Church of Saint Nicholas, three visible wayside crosses and the underground Muches offer insights into different aspects of the village’s history. A walking circuit is also described for Beaumetz. Visitors choosing the village for a stay can take in its buildings, personal stories and a route, rather than getting to know Beaumetz through just one topic.

The Church of Saint Nicholas and its furnishings

The Church of Saint Nicholas dates from the 17th century. It houses a stone baptismal font from the 16th century and two wooden statues from the 17th century. The figures depict Saint Augustine and Saint Nicholas and are classified as historic monuments. The church therefore contains furnishings from two different centuries: the baptismal font predates the church building, while the statues date from the same period as it. Visitors interested in religious art will find specific objects here that differ in material, date and the saints they depict.

Wayside crosses with stories from Beaumetz

Three wayside crosses are visible in the area of Beaumetz. Plaques made of copper or brass, recording stories of the village’s farmers, are still attached to them. The crosses thus connect their locations with personal memories. Each has its own historical association: the Lépine-Quillet family wayside cross dates from the mid-19th century and stands at the intersection of the main road and rue de Domart. The cross commemorating Henri Douzenel dates from 1936 and stands on the road opposite the municipal cemetery.

Another cross commemorates Adrien Martin, a farmer from Beaumetz. It stands beside a small road leading towards Bernaville. Martin was killed there by a lightning strike on 9 June 1910, in his 65th year, along with his two horses. The plaques on the wayside crosses preserve stories of people from the village; the dates and locations give each memory its own temporal and geographical context.

The Muches as historic places of refuge

The Muches of Beaumetz are underground places of refuge. The population built them in the 15th and 16th centuries to provide shelter from repeated invasions. Their history reveals a different side of the village from the church and wayside crosses: here, the focus is on protection and living conditions in a period of repeated threats. The name Muches refers to these underground structures and their historic function.

Forest and settlement history

The development of the settlement of Beaumetz began after the clearing of the Goyaval forest, now known as the “bois de Ribeaucourt”. The forest and the development of the village are thus linked in a recorded historical sequence. At the time of Gérard de Berny’s death, the Ribeaucourt forest extended across the communes of Ribeaucourt, Beaumetz and Fransu and covered 362 hectares. This figure describes the forest’s extent at the time; together with the account of its clearing, it provides a timeframe for the development of the settlement and landscape.

Walking circuit and planning your time

A route description published on 26 March 2024 gives the walking circuit “Beaumetz – La Vallée sous le Bois” as 11.9 km long, with an elevation gain of 137 m and a duration of 3 hours and 12 minutes. These three figures help put the route length and time required into perspective. Check the route markers and conditions before setting out. This will help you plan your outing using the published figures and take the trail conditions into account before your walk.

Discover more destinations: Bernay-en-Ponthieu, Lucheux, Port-Le-Grand, Petit Port, Doullens, Doingt, Méneslies, Bernes.

For the regional travel overview: Somme.