Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The textile factory La Filandière, located in Fresnoy-le-Grand in the department of Aisne, is a major testimony of the picard textile industry of the 19th and 20th centuries. The site, partially built in the 19th century, was renovated after the destruction of World War I. In particular, it houses guard and weaver houses, as well as a large trades hall covered in Sheds, before 1914 and restored in the interwar period.

La Filandière stands out as Picardie's last textile company to practice weaving on hand-looms equipped with the Jacquard system. Founded in 1920 by the Parisian industrialist Gaétan Lanzani, it has reused pre-existing buildings, 28 of which are still functional today. These machines, installed in 1920, symbolize the transition between craftsmanship and mechanization in the textile sector.

The site was recognized for its heritage value with a registration of the custodian's and weaver's houses in February 1997, followed by a classification of the trade rooms and their contents in November 1997. Private property, the factory retains a rare industrial complex, where architecture and machinery testify to two centuries of textile history. The accuracy of its location is estimated to be poor (level 5/10), based on available data.

Fresnoy-le-Grand, like many communes of Aisne, was marked by the conflicts of the twentieth century, notably the First World War which left traces in the local building. Textile factories, once numerous in the region, played a central role in the economy and social life, employing a labour force often from the surrounding countryside. The Filandière thus embodies the resilience of artisanal know-how to industrial and historical upheavals.

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