Start of sanding 1er avril 1851 (≈ 1851)
Initiation of work on well #1.
1852
First production
First production 1852 (≈ 1852)
Innovative oily coal extraction.
mai 1883
Creation of well 1 bis
Creation of well 1 bis mai 1883 (≈ 1883)
Modern well replacing #1.
1936 ou 1938
Well closure #1
Well closure #1 1936 ou 1938 (≈ 1938)
Combining and destruction of facilities.
1946
Nationalization
Nationalization 1946 (≈ 1946)
Integration into the Bethune Group.
1968
Final closure
Final closure 1968 (≈ 1968)
End of extraction, industrial conversion.
1er décembre 2009
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 1er décembre 2009 (≈ 2009)
Protection of buildings and enclosures.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The facades and roofs of the buildings and enclosures of the old tile of pit No. 1, comprising the building of the extraction machine of well No. 1bis with its technical devices still in place, the workshops adjacent to it, the shops and stables located at the rear of the tile and the concrete garage located at the entrance of the tile on the rue Nationale, and the brick enclosure on the rue Nationale with its entrance heal (Box AM 439, 490, 492): inscription by order of 1 December 2009
Key figures
Adrien Aubé de Bracquemont - Founder and innovator
Directed the company, introduced modern techniques.
Origin and history
The tile of pit 1 of the Compagnie des mines de Vicoigne-Noeux-Drocourt, located at Noeux-les-Mines, was inaugurated in 1851 under the impulse of Adrien Aubé de Bracquemont. This site marked a technological break in the regional mining industry: the first well of 4 meters in diameter (compared to 3 meters previously), innovative exhaustion and extraction machines, and rapid production of oily coal as early as 1852. The pit became a model, copied by the other companies in the basin.
In 1883, the more modern well No. 1 bis was dug 63 metres from the first, making it obsolete for extraction (it was then used for ventilation). The site extended with workers' towns, a church (Sainte-Barbe), a cooperative and a pharmacy, forming an autonomous community. Despite a deadly dust blow in 1885, production continued until the nationalisation of 1946 and the definitive closure in 1968, followed by industrial conversion.
Ranked a historic monument in 2009-2010, the tile preserves its iconic buildings: 1 bis well extraction machine, central workshops, large offices, church, cooperative and pharmacy. The adjacent, wooded earth is today a green space. The wellheads, materialized by Charbonnages de France, recall mining history, while a small local museum perpetuates this industrial memory.
The 1st pit was filled between 1936 and 1938, its installations destroyed. Well 1 bis, upgraded in 1948, ceased operations in 1968 after reaching 703 metres in depth. The site, a symbol of the golden age and the decline of coal, also illustrates the economic conversion of the Hauts-de-France, with its preserved soil and protected buildings, witness to a unique technical and social heritage.
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