Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former spinning The Lightning, located in Petit-Quevilly, was founded in 1835 as a flax factory using a steam machine recovered from the tug The Lightning. This first installation marks the beginning of an ambitious industrial adventure, led by local actors and Parisian investors. The mill was rebuilt in 1845-1847 according to the plans of English engineer William Fairbairn, specialist in fire retardant industrial buildings in brick and metal. With 150 meters long and modern equipment, it became one of the largest and most advanced textile units in France, attracting even the visit of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie in 1857.

The initial company, Lebaudy, Peter and Cie, brought together influential figures such as the manufacturer Eugène Bazile (replaced by John Peter in 1846), the merchant Louis Lebaudy, and Parisian bankers such as Samuel Oppenheim and Alexandre Goüin. Despite its prestige, the spinning industry suffered a setback in 1848 with the bankruptcy of the Caisse générale du commerce et de l'industrie, linked to its sponsors. Repurchased in 1859 by the industrial Pouyer-Quertier, it converted into cotton and employed up to 700 people, before closing permanently in 1932.

After its bankruptcy, the state acquired the site in 1932 to become the Tallandier barracks, active until 1999. During the Second World War, in 1945, it temporarily hosted the African-American Six Triple Eight battalion, which was responsible for sorting the soldiers' mail. Ranked a historic monument in 2003 for its pioneering architecture (melting posts, metal vaults), the spinning is now converted into a business incubator under the name Seine Innopolis, thus preserving its industrial heritage.

The main building, La Grande Fabrique, and the Machine Building (refurbished in 1893) remain as testimonies of that time. Their bold design, combining brick and metallic structure, marked the contemporaries and made them a jewel of the French industrial heritage. The site also illustrates the economic changes in Normandy, from the textile age to the 20th century to a modern vocation of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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