Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Hauts-de-France
  4. Nord
  5. 59118 Wambrechies

  6. Linen spinning Wambrechies

 Linen spinning Wambrechies dans le Nord

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine industriel
Filature
Nord

Linen spinning Wambrechies

    41 Rue du Quesnoy
    59118 Wambrechies
Filature de lin La Linière à Wambrechies
Filature de lin La Linière à Wambrechies
Filature de lin La Linière à Wambrechies
Crédit photo : Velvet - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1857
Nicolle Verstraete Foundation
1892
Association of Louis Nicolle
1922
Creation of the SA La Linere
1923
Construction of spinning
6 mars 2000
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The facades and roofs of the old mill; the tower and stairway located at the rear of the tower (see Box B 4340): registration by order of 6 March 2000

Key figures

Eugène Verstraete - Founder of Nicolle-Verstraete Linen filter at Lille in 1857.
Ernest Nicolle - Gendre and Associate Pursues activity with Eugene Verstraete.
Louis Nicolle - Head of Nicolle Establishments Sponsor of spinning in 1923.
André Granet - Architect of spinning Designs the reinforced concrete building.

Origin and history

The linen spinning La Linière, located in Wambrechies, was built in 1923 for the Société Anonyme des Établissements Louis Nicolle, heiress of a textile tradition dating back to 1857. The factory was designed by architect André Granet, known for his industrial works in reinforced concrete, such as the Gnome and Rhône factories. The building is distinguished by its symmetrical structure: two 37-metre side wings frame a central brick tower, housing dynamos and tanks. The workshops, illuminated by large rectangular bays, illustrate rare architectural research in the textile sector, combining functionality and aesthetics.

The company's history dates back to Eugène Verstraete, a flax spinner in Lille, who founded in 1857 a factory in Canteleu-Lomme with his brothers, under the name Nicolle-Verstraete. His son-in-law Ernest Nicolle and his son Louis Nicolle (partner in 1892) continued the activity. After the First World War, Louis Nicolle launched production and in 1922 created the Société Anonyme La Linière de Wambrechies, which included several local sites. The 1923 spinning, the only remaining one today, was listed in the Historical Monuments in 2000 for its facades, roofs, and iconic tower.

The air and modern style of the building, marked by the use of reinforced concrete and decorative brick motifs, reflects the influence of industrial innovations in the inter-war period. André Granet applied rational principles, with concrete poles, rotating stairs, and optimized light distribution. Although privately owned, the spinning shows the golden age of textiles in the North, where Wambrechies played a key role in flax processing. Its architecture, both utilitarian and bold, makes it an exceptional industrial heritage.

The spinning is part of an economic context marked by post-First World War reconstruction and modernization of production tools. The Louis Nicolle Establishments, by acquiring other local plants (such as Becquart-Crespel and Vandenbosch), consolidated their position in the Linen industry. Today, only the Wambrechies site, with its offices, warehouses and fireplace, remains as a remnant of this flourishing era, recalling the strategic importance of flax in the regional industry.

External links

Page Monumentum