Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Normandie
  4. Seine-Maritime
  5. 76500 Elbeuf

  6. Louis-Henri Delarue wool Weaving Manufacture in Elbeuf

 Louis-Henri Delarue wool Weaving Manufacture in Elbeuf en Seine-Maritime

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine industriel
Manufacture
Seine-Maritime

Louis-Henri Delarue wool Weaving Manufacture in Elbeuf

    7 Rue de la Halle
    76500 Elbeuf
Photo de Louis-Henri Delarue wool Weaving Manufacture in Elbeuf

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1785
Acquisition of land
16 février 1792
Second land purchase
3 novembre 1802
Visit to Bonaparte
1842
Construction of the 3rd house
27 avril 1976
First entry MH
6 décembre 1993
Second entry MH
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Façades and roofs on street and courtyard; staircase with its wrought iron ramp; yellow living room on the first floor (old alcove room) with its decor (cad. AE 51): registration by order of 27 April 1976; All remaining elements, namely the courtyard building (excluding the part built to the north and in return to the alignment of the rue de la Halle) and the commemorative plaque at its present location, under the porch of the building on street (Box AE 52): inscription by order of 6 December 1993

Key figures

Louis-Henri Delarue - Founder and manufacturer Created the factory in 1785-1792.
Louis-Henri Delarue fils - Heir and manufacturer The third house was built in 1842.
Bonaparte (Napoléon) - First Consul Visited the factory in 1802.
Pierre-François-Louis Lemercier - Former landowner Selled land to Delarue in 1785.

Origin and history

The Louis-Henri Delarue wool weaving factory, located in Elbeuf, Seine-Maritime, was founded at the end of the 18th century on a vast land acquired in 1785 and 1792 between Rue Guynemer (then rue Saint-Jean) and the Rivière du Puchot. The set initially included stone and wood weaving workshops, a dye shop (today destroyed) spanning the Puchot, and a management hotel. The buildings, organized around a rectangular courtyard, blended limestone, brick and slate, with architectural details such as Saint Andrew's crosses and triangular or curvilinear frontons.

In 1802, the first consul Bonaparte visited the factory, an event commemorated by a plaque still visible today. This period coincided with the transfer of the employer's house to the west, its ordered facade giving onto a park. In 1842, Louis-Henri Delarue Jr. took advantage of the piercing of Rue de la Halle to build a third brick and stone house with a harped chain. The factory, a symbol of the Elbeuvian wool industry, ceased its activity in the 19th century.

The building was listed as historical monuments in two stages: the facades, roofs, a wrought iron staircase and the "yellow lounge" (former alcove room) on 27 April 1976, then all remaining elements, including the commemorative plaque, on 6 December 1993. Today, the remaining employer housing and workshop are rehabilitated into residential buildings, reflecting the adaptation of the industrial heritage.

The construction reflects the techniques and architectural style of the late 18th and mid-19th centuries, with local materials such as medium limestone or large apparatus. The allegations of the wooden panel windows, the balconies supported by columns, and the skylights of the attic illustrate this know-how. The factory is part of the Norman industrial landscape, marked by wool production, a major activity of Elbeuf at that time.

Historical sources, including Monumentum archives and descriptions, highlight the importance of this site in regional economic history. Bonaparte's visit in 1802, although brief, attests to his influence. Subsequent transformations, such as the addition of the house on Rue de la Halle in 1842, show an architectural and functional evolution linked to industrial and urban needs.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum