Esquelbecq (; from ) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Nord department in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Its southern limit with Ledringhem is ''chemin de Rubrouck''.

Heraldry

History

In 1436, Wautier de Ghistelles was ''seigneur d'Ekelsbeke et de Ledringhem'' (Lord of Esquelbecq and Ledringhem) and governor of ''La Madeleine'' hospital in Bierne. The

Wormhoudt massacre The Wormhoudt massacre (or Wormhout massacre) was the mass murder of 81 British and French POWs by Waffen-SS soldiers from the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler during the Battle of France in May 1940. Fighting As part of the Brit ...

was perpetrated near Esquelbecq on 80 British and French prisoners of war by

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

members at the time of the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

Church and organ

The church on the village square is dedicated to Folcwin, who died at Esquelbecq in 855 CE. It is a

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

of the ''hallekerk'' type characteristic of the region, with three naves of equal length, width, and height. The interior and roof were destroyed by a fire in 1976, but the external appearance is still substantially as it was in 1610, with an attractive lozenge pattern in the brickwork. The present church organ, by Marc Garnier (who also built an organ for the Elgar Concert Hall at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

), was built after the fire. It is modelled on the designs prevalent in Flanders in the 17th century and is "mesotonic" – tuned so that pieces from that era can be played in

meantone temperament Meantone temperament is a musical temperament, that is a tuning system, obtained by narrowing the fifths so that their ratio is slightly less than 3:2 (making them ''narrower'' than a perfect fifth), in order to push the thirds closer to pure. M ...

.http://www.cote-dopale.com/tourisme/eglise-d-esquelbecq/ Côte d'Opale tourisme - Eglise d'Esquelbecq; Retrieved 14 July 2018

Transportation

Esquelbecq is served by a railway station.

Heraldry

History

Church and organ

Transportation

See also