Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel
Monument
Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel, located in Waziers (Nord), is a modern edifice built in the 19th-20th centuries. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Modern (19th-20th century)
- Location
- Waziers, Nord, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.3753, 3.0996
- Mérimée Reference
- PA59000157
In the heart of the mining town of Waziers, this 1930s medical-social centre embodies the paternalistic urbanism of the Compagnie des mines d'Aniche, with its monumental corner pavilions and its anthology bandstand.
History
Nestling between the Notre-Dame and La Clochette workers' housing estates, the former Compagnie des mines d'Aniche medical and welfare centre is one of the most complete and best-preserved collective complexes in the northern coalfield. Built in the second quarter of the 20th century, it bears witness to the ambitious - and profoundly paternalistic - social policy that the major mining companies implemented to retain and supervise their workforce, which was largely of Polish origin. The complex is built around the parish church, the hub of community life, and extends northwards in a neat row of complementary facilities. The girls' and boys' schools, linked by a long covered courtyard of generous proportions, were designed to cater for the high birth rate of the Polish immigrant community. Their massive corner pavilions, which housed classrooms and administrative offices, give the complex an instantly recognisable architectural silhouette, halfway between the Beaux-Arts style and the functionalist architecture of the inter-war years. Further to the north, a nursery school and a dispensary completed this comprehensive support system, from birth to education. The small festive square that extends from this complex, with its bandstand and village hall, is a reminder that the Company also wanted to manage its employees' leisure activities and social life, turning the estate into an enclosed, self-sufficient world. Now converted into the Henri Martel social and cultural centre, the building has retained most of its architectural substance. It is home to associations, cultural activities and neighbourhood events, perpetuating the original social vocation of the site in an emancipated form. A visit to the building is a natural part of the itineraries on the mining heritage of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais basin, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Architecture
The architecture of the Waziers medical and sponsorship centre is based on a functionalist style with Beaux-Arts influences, typical of the buildings constructed by the Compagnie des Mines d'Aniche between the wars. The school buildings, at the heart of the complex, feature an original layout based around very large corner pavilions that housed the classrooms and administrative offices. These massive volumes, probably topped by gambrel or pavilion roofs, lend a certain monumentality to the whole, breaking with the repetitive simplicity of the surrounding corons. The long courtyard linking the boys' and girls' schools, the backbone of the site, bears witness to the attention paid to community use and the climatic conditions of the north. The dispensary and nursery school, further to the north, are probably more sober and functional in design, emphasising clear circulation and hygienic spaces, in line with the architectural and health doctrines in force in the 1930s. The festive square, with its bandstand and village hall, introduces a lighter, more decorative dimension to the overall composition, reminiscent of the bourgeois squares of the period. The materials used reflect regional resources and northern building practices: red brick is omnipresent, combined with bluestone or limestone elements for the window surrounds and basements. Slate and tile roofs complete the palette of colours typical of the mining towns of the northern basin. The ensemble forms a coherent urban microcosm, whose spatial organisation reflects a hierarchical and planned vision of collective working-class life.
Related Figures
Compagnie des mines d'Aniche — commanditaire de l'ensemble, fondée en 1773, principal acteur du développement urbain et social de WaziersHenri Martel — personnalité locale du monde minier ou syndical, dont le nom a été donné au centre social après la reconversion de l'équipementMineurs polonais de la cité Notre-Dame — communauté immigrée qui façonna l'identité démographique et culturelle du quartier dans les années 1920-1950Directeurs des Houillères du Bassin du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais — gestionnaires du patrimoine minier après la nationalisation de 1946Architectes des services techniques de la Compagnie des mines d'Aniche — concepteurs anonymes de l'ensemble, héritiers du courant fonctionnaliste régional
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel located?
Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel is located in Waziers, Nord department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel built?
Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel open to visitors?
Ancien centre médical et de patronage de la cité Notre-Dame de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, aujourd'hui centre social et culturel Henri Martel is currently closed to visitors.