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Origin and history

The monument to Charles Mathieu is a bronze statue in front of the church of Lourches, in the mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. He honoured Charles Mathieu (1798–75), director of the Douchy Mining Company, pioneer of coal mining in the region. The monument, offered to the commune in 1901, was designed by the sculptor Corneille-Henri Theunissen and the architect Constant Moyaux, after a competition launched in 1900. It includes sculptures of miners and inscriptions celebrating Mathieu and his collaborators.

The creation of the monument is part of the industrial boom of Lourches, whose population rose from 155 in 1804 to 5,834 in 1846 thanks to mining activity. Charles Mathieu, recruited in 1832 to run the first wells (including the Saint-Mathieu pit), played a key role in this development. The mining company, founded in 1829 by the Dumas Company, decided to erect this monument in 1900 to commemorate its legacy. The garden surrounding the statue, initially girded with metal grids, has now disappeared.

Ranked a historic monument in 2009, the monument is one of the 353 elements of the Unesco World Heritage mining basin in 2012 (site no. 20). This recognition underlines its importance in the social and industrial history of the region. The restoration of 2006 preserved this testimony of the age of mines, where miners and engineers, like the 17 names engraved on the base, marked the local identity.

The stone base, adorned with mining symbols, bears an inscription detailing the achievements of Mathieu: foundation of the Douchy mines (1832) and Courrières (1849), as well as the tribute to the miners who contributed to these projects. Mathieu's dwelling, built in 1845, became the present town hall of Lourches. The monument, a communal property, remains a symbol of the workers' memory and industrial heritage of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

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