Hôpital Militaire de Lille, Former military hospital in Lille, France

The Hôpital Militaire de Lille occupies the former Jesuit college on rue de l'Hôpital-Militaire, next to the church of Saint-Étienne. Its rehabilitated buildings, over 18,000 m², combine Lille's traditional brick and stone with glass and metal. Inside are an elliptical chapel, vaulted ground-floor rooms, a monumental double-revolution staircase and an honour staircase; the Jesuit canal and its water gate, covered in 1713, were uncovered during the works.

A Jesuit college founded in Lille in 1606 was ravaged by fire in 1740 and rebuilt; after the Jesuits were expelled in 1762 it stood closed for nearly twenty years. In 1781 Louis XVI ordered a military hospital installed in the former college, with extension work by François-Joseph Gombert. A further fire in 1794 led to rearrangements, and on 12 March 1914 the hospital took the name Scrive, honouring Lille instructor-physician Gaspard-Léonard Scrive. It closed in 1998.

The name Scrive, adopted on 12 March 1914, honours Gaspard-Léonard Scrive, a Lille-born instructing physician. The site is attached to the church of Saint-Étienne on the rue de l'Hôpital-Militaire, and the street name itself recalls the hospital's presence in the neighbourhood.

The site now houses administrative services of the Nord prefecture, so the buildings are working offices rather than a museum; visits are not organized as a tourist tour. The entrance is on rue de l'Hôpital-Militaire, next to the Saint-Étienne church, and the Rihour metro station is the nearest stop. The rehabilitation carried out from 2004, which uncovered the Jesuit canal and its water gate, lets you see brick, stone, glass and metal side by side.

Rehabilitation work from 2004 uncovered the Jesuit canal and the water gate marking where it passed under the college, both covered over in 1713. The site also keeps a trace of the old city ramparts, and the rebuilt complex exceeds 18,000 m².