CASSEL, a town of northern France in the department of Nord, on an isolated hill, about 12 m. E.N.E. of St. Omer. Pop. 2,045. It was a Roman station Castellum Menapiorum, as numerous remains of the Gallo-Roman period attest, and an important centre of roads. It was the scene of important battles in 1071, when Robert, count of Flanders, vanquished his rival Arnulf ; 1328, when Philip of Valois defeated the Flemish; and 1677, when William of Orange was defeated by Philip, duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV. It was the headquarters of Gen. Foch in 1914-15 and of Gen. Plumer in 1916-18, and was born barded, though not seriously damaged, in 1918.
The former hotel de yule (1634), the hotel de la Noble Cour, once the seat of the jurisdiction of maritime Flanders, now the town-hall, and the hotel des ducs d'Halluin are the historic build ings of the town. Its industrial establishments include tanneries and oil-mills, and there is trade in cattle and butter.