Part 5

_Follow the Rue de Thionville, which begins opposite St. Magdalene's Church, then turn to the left into the Place de Gand, at the end of which is the =Gand Gate=. On the right take the Rue de Courtrai which leads to the Place aux Bluets. At the lower end of this square, turn to the left into the Rue des Urbanistes, then take the first street on the right, the Rue des Canonniers, which skirts the =Hôtel des Canonniers=. The latter_, formerly an Urbanist Convent, was given by +Napoléon+ in 1804 to the "Sedentary Gunners Corps" of Lille. It contains town records and a small museum of local interest.

A little further on, at the corner of the Rue des Canonniers and the Rue de Roubaix is the old =Hôtel d'Aigremont=, dating from the 18th century.

_Turning to the left into the Rue de Roubaix, the tourist comes out in front of the =Roubaix Gate=._

ROUBAIX GATE

The =Roubaix= or =St. Maurice Gate= dates from about 1620, and was erected from the plans of _Jean de Mesre_, _Jean Petit_ and _Jean Fayet_. Of its three entrances, the middle one only is ancient. Above each entrance is carved a coat of arms. The one in the centre, forming a tympanum, is between two pilasters supporting a triangular pediment. At the top is a row of battlements, with a stone niche surmounted by a broken pediment in the centre. The niche contains the =statue= of a woman.

Over the passage is a slate-roofed building ornamented with coloured glazed bricks.

_Go through the gate and take the Rue du Faubourg de Roubaix to the =Eastern Cemetery=._ The graves of =Jacquet= and =Trulin= are in this cemetery _(see photos p. 24)_.

_Return to the Grande Place by the Rue de Roubaix, Rue des Ponts-de-Comines and Rue Faidherbe._

ROUBAIX-TOURCOING

From Lille to Roubaix and Tourcoing, via the Boulevard des Trois Villes.

Total Distance, including return journey: 16 miles.

=ROUBAIX=, one of France's =chief industrial centres=, is of very ancient origin. The first important mention of it in history, however, only goes back to the 15th century (1469), when one, _Peter of Roubaix_, obtained permission from Charles the Bald to manufacture cloth. It was occupied and sacked several times by foreign invaders. In 1792 it was taken by the Austrians, in 1794 by the English, and in 1914 by the Germans.

In 1554, Roubaix, which had become a rival to Lille, obtained permission from Charles Quint and later (1609) from the Council of the Arch-Dukes of Austria, to manufacture velvet, fustian and common grey linen cloth.

A decree of the State Council in 1762, granting similar privileges to all the parishes, was the subject of long lawsuits, which were decided against Lille.

The popular song-writer, _Gustave Nadaud_ (1820-1893) was a native of Roubaix.

There are no monuments in the town anterior to the Revolution.

The population, largely composed of the working classes, increased rapidly between 1881 and 1891, and numbered 120,000 in 1914. The suburbs: Wattrelos, Lys, Croix, Wasquehal and Mouvaux, are extensions of the town itself and are growing steadily.

Since 1830 Roubaix has been an important centre for =wool combing= and =spinning=, the machinery employed comprising 700 washing, carding, combing and weaving machines and 300,000 spindles. Before the War, the wool-spinning mills produced =6,000 tons= of yarn annually, the whole of which was used in France.

The =dyeing= and =finishing= industries, which date back to 1760, had steadily prospered. In 1914, 48 firms, employing 8,000 workpeople, were engaged in this branch.

* * * * *

=TOURCOING= shared the fate of Flanders during the course of its history. The English and Flemish burnt it during the 14th century, while the French seized it in 1477. In 1566-1568 it was twice sacked by the Gueux, and the Duke of Albe held it to ransom. From 1667 to 1708 it was annexed to France by Louis XIV. Later it fell successively under the yoke of the Austrians, Dutch and Saxons. On May 18th, 1794, the French beat the Duke of York's troops at Tourcoing, and paved the way for the Victory of Fleurus on June 26th.

=Tourcoing= is essentially an =industrial town=. Its population has steadily increased since 1491, when it numbered 2,500. In 1851 it had grown to 27,615 and in 1914 to 82,644.

From time immemorial Tourcoing has been a =wool manufacturing= centre. Here, the wool is first washed and dried, then treated with cocoanut fat, before combing, and lastly spun. Since 1845 the combing has been done mechanically (Heilman's system). The same may be said of the spinning, which, since 1811, was done on Bobo machines. Before the War, =5,000 tons= of spun wool were exported annually.

Among the =specialities= made at Tourcoing were: =fine thread=, =tablecloths= and =tapestry-work= of mixed silk and mercerised cotton (well known for their fine colouring and reasonable price), and =carpets= of the Wilton and Oriental types.

ROUBAIX

Itinerary: _Leave Lille by the Boulevard Carnot at the Place du Théâtre, between the Theatre and the New Bourse. Follow the Boulevard des Trois Villes to =Roubaix=. Enter the latter by the Rue de Lille, follow its continuation, the Rue Neuve, which leads to the Grande Place: =Hôtel de Ville= and =Church of St. Martin=._

Hôtel de Ville

The present building is the work of the architect _Laloux_ (1911); it replaced the old Town Hall, built in 1845 and pulled down in 1907. The latter, as the town grew, had several times been enlarged and otherwise altered, but had finally become too small for a population of more than 50,000 workpeople and an annual production exceeding 500,000,000 frs. in value.

The new Town Hall is a fine building, with a =frieze= representing scenes from the local industries. A wing on the right serves as the =Stock-Exchange=, while another on the left contains the town's records.

Church of St. Martin

This church, which was rebuilt and transformed in 1849, recalls vaguely the 15th century Gothic style of the original edifice. Only the =steeple= is ancient. The church has five naves and contains four =ancient tombs= and a Flemish =altar-screen=.

_Take the Rue de la Gare, to the Nord-West of the Grande Place._ At the corner of the Rue Nain is the =National School of Industrial Arts=, to which has been added a =Museum= of =Paintings= and =Sculpture= (recently organized by _M. Victor Champier_), a =Textile Museum= and a =Library= containing 15,000 volumes.

The School proper (whose courses, which are well attended, include dyeing, spinning, weaving, etc.) and its annexes (museum and library) are installed in a fine building erected in 1889 from the plans of the architect, _F. Dutert_, who designed the Galerie des Machines in Paris. Built of dressed stone and brick, the three doorways lead to the library, museums (sculpture, paintings, art-history and textiles) and the public lecture-hall.

The =central pediment= by Allar, represents Industry and Art. On the =pediments of the pavilions= are symbolized: The Arts _(by Lanson)_ and the Sciences _(by Hughes)_. The =frieze= _(by Laoust)_ represents, symbolically, the various branches of learning taught in the school.

_At the station, take the Rue de l'Alma on the right, then turn to the left into the Rue de Tourcoing, which leads straight to =Tourcoing=._

TOURCOING

_The Rue de Roubaix (continuation of the Rue de Tourcoing) is prolonged by the Rue Carnot, which leads to the Grande Place._ Here the tourist will find the =Church of St. Christopher=.

The Church of St. Christopher

The original church was erected in the 12th or 13th century, but was entirely rebuilt in 1860, in 15th century Gothic style. The body of brick and stone, with its various balustrades, graceful sculptured pinnacles, and richly decorated tracery windows, recalls the churches of that period, but it is evident from the aspect of the interior, where the decoration is less rich, that the church is modern. The spire above the tower is 17th century.

To the N.W. of the church is the =Hôtel de Ville=, a modern, French Renaissance building, surmounted by a large dome. It contains a =library= of about 10,000 volumes, a =museum= of fine =paintings=, mostly modern _(Paul Chabas_, _David_, _Guardi_, _Harpignies_, _Peter Naefs_, _Henri Zo_, _Henri Zuber)_ and specimens of =old cloth-stuffs= of local manufacture.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Origin and chief historical events 2

How Lille fell in 1914 5

The Deliverance 9

The German occupation 11

The Case of the Four 16

The Execution of Léon Trulin 18

The Explosion of the "Dix-huit Ponts" 22

The Deportations 22

Plan of Lille (2 colours) between 24 and 25

+1st Itinerary+ 25

The Grande Place 26

The Bourse 27

The Hôtel de Ville 29

The Palais de Rihour 30

The Church of St. Maurice 31

The Street and Gate of Tournai 34

+2nd Itinerary+ 36

The Museum 38

The Ruins of the "Dix-huit Ponts" 45

The Paris Gate 47

The Noble Tower 48

+3rd Itinerary+ 49

The Palais Rameau 50

The Citadelle 51

The Napoléon and Négrier Bridges 52, 53

The Churches of St. André and St. Catherine 53, 54

+4th Itinerary+ 55

The Church of Our Lady of the Vine 55

The Palais de Justice. 56

The Roubaix Gate 57

Roubaix and Tourcoing 59

* * * * *

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON

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Transcriber's Notes:

Used the unicode circled latin capital letter H, Ⓗ, for the small hotel icons on p. ii.

Used the unicode circled latin capital letter T, Ⓣ, for the small telegraphic address icons on p. ii.

Used the unicode circled latin capital letter R, Ⓡ, for the small repair shop icons on p. ii.

Used the mid-dot (·) rather than the full stop for all decimal points.

Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.

Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.

Enclosed italics markup in _underscores_.

Enclosed bold unitalicized markup in =equals=.

Enclosed small capital unitalicized markup in +plus signs+.

End of Project Gutenberg's Lille Before and During the War, by Various