Ben / Ben-Ahin / Ben nr. Huy / Bèn-Ahin / Bin

Baptismal font listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10111358] [accessed 14 January 2026]: "fonts baptismaux [...] pierre [...] gothique [...] 1501-1600 [...] hauteur de fonts baptismaux : 102 cm [en pierre] [...] 1601-1700 : Couvercle [...] hauteur du couvercle 52 cm [en laiton]".
A communication to BSI by Pol Herman (e-mail fo 13 January 2026) informs: "The castle of the counts of Beaufort was a medieval fortress, situated on a rocky spur overlooking the village of Ben. Mentioned in 1044, it was largely constructed at the end of the 12th century and destroyed by the citizens of Liège in 1430, by the French army in 1552, and again rebuilt. In 1674, king Louis XIV spent the night there. The extensive parish of Ben was then also called Beaufort, referring to this famous lordship in the Middle Ages. From the 13th century until 1846, the parish of Beaufort covered the entire territory of Ben-Ahin. In 1846, Beaufort split in two: Ben (Ben, Gives, and Solières) and Saint-Léonard (Saint-Léonard and Ahin). A place of worship in Ben is first mentioned in the 9th century. Of the 12th-century church, only the Romanesque tower, pierced with arrow slits, remains. The Cistercian abbey of Solières held the right of presentation and tithe. These rights had the tithe, and been ceded to it by the counts of Beaufort in 1250 and 1274. The chancel dates from the 13th century, the nave from the 14th. Several restorations took place over the following centuries. The tower houses an 18th-century portal. After a fire, the current nave and chancel were rebuilt in the 18th century. Baptismal records: 1599. Simple octogonal renaissance Mosan limestone font, 16th c. Pictures by « Les murs de Pierre » https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/10111358"