Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche
Monument
Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche, 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
- 50.3756, 3.0992
- Mérimée Reference
- PA59000170
In Waziers, these twin presbyteries — one French, the other Polish — embody the working-class and cosmopolitan spirit of the Cité de la Clochette: Art Deco, Neo-Regionalism and half-timbered architecture come together here to form an exceptional mining complex.
History
In the heart of the Cité de la Clochette, a working-class neighbourhood built between 1925 and 1927 by the Compagnie des Mines d'Aniche, the French and Polish presbyteries of the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs form an architectural pairing as unexpected as it is moving. In a landscape still marked by the legacy of the North’s coal industry, these religious buildings stand out as true manifestos of inventive civil architecture, a far cry from the drabness too often associated with mining towns. What makes these presbyteries truly unique is their ability to blend several architectural styles without ever becoming incoherent. The serliana adorning the façade’s dormer window evokes the classical French tradition, whilst the turret and faux half-timbering suggest a self-assured, picturesque neo-regionalist style. The bow windows and the almost anthropomorphic composition of the façades, for their part, betray an Art Deco sensibility one would hardly expect to encounter in the mining hinterland of the North. This formal syncretism is no accident: it reflects the Company’s desire to offer its workers—and their pastors—a dignified, humane and identity-affirming environment. The existence of two separate vicarages, one for the French clergy and the other for the Polish clergy, bears witness to the unique social fabric of the Cité de la Clochette. In the interwar period, thousands of Polish miners crossed Europe to come and mine coal in the Aniche basin. The company, keen to channel and stabilise this workforce, organised their social and spiritual lives with almost military precision — even going so far as to provide each community with its own administered place of worship. Visiting these presbyteries today is like stepping back into a chapter of social and architectural history that is rarely brought to light. The attentive visitor will notice the sculpted details, the quality of the red and ochre bricks characteristic of the entire Cité, and the way these buildings interact with the Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs church, inaugurated in 1927, which stands opposite them. The complex forms an island of architectural civility in the midst of a garden city whose layout draws directly on the great urban utopias of the early 20th century. Listed as Historic Monuments since 2010, the Waziers presbyteries form part of the industrial and human heritage of the Nord–Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin, which UNESCO recognised as exceptional in 2012. They are well worth a visit for anyone interested in the history of immigration, the social architecture of the interwar period, or simply the understated beauty of masterpieces that are never featured in guidebooks.
Architecture
The two presbyteries are distinguished above all by their remarkable stylistic syncretism, a characteristic of religious and civil architecture in the interwar period in the industrial North. The street-facing façades feature serlianas — those tripartite windows inherited from the Italian Renaissance — integrated into dormer windows that anchor the buildings in a classical French tradition. This sophisticated motif sits alongside, on the same elevations, faux half-timbering of Neo-Norman or Neo-Flemish inspiration, recalling the Neo-regionalist taste then widespread in the architectural output of the mining companies of the North. The most surprising feature remains the presence of English-style bow windows, which project the façades out onto the street and lend the structures a typically Art Deco dynamism. This projection, combined with an overall façade composition deemed ‘anthropomorphic’ by specialists — the openings and reliefs subtly evoking human faces — betrays the influence of contemporary artistic movements also found in the neighbouring buildings. The materials used are in keeping with the colour palette of the Cité de la Clochette: red and ochre brick, white stone in panels and lintels, and interlocking roof tiles. These combinations of colours and textures deliberately break with the monotony of standardised workers’ housing estates, in accordance with the aesthetic specifications set by the Compagnie des Mines d’Aniche for this development. A corner turret completes the composition of one of the presbyteries, adding a picturesque touch that anchors these functional buildings in an almost domestic and warm style, in contrast to the austerity often expected of presbyterial architecture.
Related Figures
Compagnie des Mines d'Aniche — maître d'ouvrage, commanditaire de l'ensemble de la Cité de la ClochetteEbenezer Howard — théoricien de la cité-jardin dont le modèle a inspiré le plan général de la citéMineurs polonais immigrés (années 1920) — communauté dont la présence a justifié la création d'un presbytère dédiéClergé polonais de Waziers — desservants du presbytère polonais, acteurs de la vie spirituelle de la communauté immigréeArchitectes de la Compagnie des Mines d'Aniche — concepteurs anonymes à ce jour de cet ensemble architectural singulier
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche located?
Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche is located in Waziers, Nord department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche built?
Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche open to visitors?
Presbytères français et polonais de l'église Notre-Dame-des-Mineurs de la compagnie des mines d'Aniche is currently closed to visitors.