Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The pit n°2 known as Henri Charvet, operated by the Compagnie des mines d'Ostricourt, was dug from 3 July 1860 at Oignies, in the mining basin of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The work began without a machine of exhaustion, but major water arrivals (up to 3,900 hectolitres/hour) imposed the installation of successive pumps, including a 200 horsepower machine. The coalfield was reached at 151.95 m in 1863, allowing the exploitation of nine layers of coal, two of which were particularly productive (Nos. 6 and 9). The pit, named in tribute to the administrator Henri Charvet, was modernized over the decades, with a strengthened tank in 1870 and 1890 to counter the leaks.

Destroyed during World War I, pit 2 was designated in 1937 as a center of concentration for the company, causing its enlargement to 5.30 metres in diameter. The work, slowed down by World War II, was completed only in 1950, after the nationalization of 1946 and integration into the Oignies Group. A powerful steam engine and a 55-metre straddle were installed, while mining towns (such as the City of 1940 or Faisanderie) and infrastructure (washers, workshops) developed around the site. Production ceased in 1976, followed by the filling of the well and the partial destruction of the facilities.

In the 21st century, the site was partially preserved: the building of the extraction machine (classified in 2009) and the image mine (registered in 2009), an underground educational space, remain. Burials Nos.115 and 115A, as well as mining towns and their Saint-Henri church, were classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2012, reflecting the industrial and social heritage of the mining basin. The annual inspections of the BRGM and the materialization of the wellhead by Charbonnages de France ensure a lasting trace of this past.

Three terrils mark the landscape: n°115 (telephery, partially exploited), n°115A (wooded, sheltering the image mine), and n°247 (disappeared cavalier). The mining cities, such as Faisanderie or the 1940 pavilion city, illustrate the social urbanisation linked to coal mining. Their renovation in the twenty-first century and their classification at UNESCO underline their heritage value, alongside the technical remains such as the engine room or the dowel baths.

The history of pit 2 reflects the technical challenges (water, fire, explosions like the one of 1868) and economic changes (concentration, nationalization, closure). Its evolution, from barrels to sedans of 2,700 litres, and then to the final stop in 1976, embodies the decline of the coal age in France. Today, the site, between industrial memory and conversion, remains a key milestone in the heritage of Hauts-de-France.

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