Former pottery Gibon à Ferrière-la-Petite dans le Nord

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The former Gibon pottery, located in Ferriere-la-Petite in Hauts-de-France, is an emblematic industrial vestige of the 4th quarter of the 19th century. It houses a bottle oven, a rare model of salted sandstone oven, built between 1890 and 1891 for the Lambert factory. This oven, classified as a Historical Monument in 1984, was 6.30 m in external diameter and 10 m in height, with ten coal-fired aland trees. Its overturned flame-cooking technique and slate holes allowed a characteristic varnishing on locally produced blue and brown sandstones.

The pottery industry of Ferriere-la-Petite dates back to 1718, when Belgian artisans from Bouffioulx introduced salt sandstone. In the 18th century, ten potteries employed half the population, producing utility objects (beerpots, plates) for the surrounding farmhouses. The production of earthenware (1798–68) strengthened the village's reputation. The last cooking took place in 1957 in Lambert pottery, marking the end of this multi-series activity.

In the 1970s–1980s, residents and the municipality saved the oven in ruins, reconstructing its envelope and creating a museum opened in 1994: the Cour des Potiers. This place, managed by a local association, perpetuates salt sandstone techniques through workshops and exhibitions. In 2001, the museum welcomed more than 6,000 visitors, presenting collections of blue sandstone (18th century) and fine earthenware (19th century).

The site illustrates the transition from a major craft activity — which disappeared in the 20th century — to a preserved cultural heritage. The one-of-a-kind bottle oven and associated buildings (falls and roofs listed in 1984) testify to the technical ingenuity and social history of Ferriere-la-Petite, where pottery structured economic life for nearly 250 years.

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