Mining heritage of Lourches and the surrounding area

The route starts at the car park of the Church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, where you can park, between Rue Émile Zola and Rue Pascal, along Rue Jean Jaurès.

(S/E) Walk across the car park away from the church and you’ll soon reach Rue Pascal.

(1) Follow the street to the left and, after about thirty metres, turn left to discover the old Fosse Saint-Mathieu. Retrace your steps; you can look back towards the church’s bell tower and compare the current Rue Jean Jaurès with Rue de la Station (as it was formerly known).

(1) Cross Rue Jean Jaurès, follow it to the left for a few metres and then turn immediately right onto Rue Henri Durre. At the next junction, turn left into Rue Blanqui.

(2) At number 392, take the small path on the right to reach the former Schneider Pit mining site, where the pit’s imposing slag heap once stood. Retrace your steps.

(2) Continue to the right along Rue Blanqui. Near Allée A of the Cité Schneider, look out for a plaque marking the ‘Chemin particulier des Mines de Douchy’. At the end of Rue Blanqui, turn left onto Rue Jean Baptiste Lebas (formerly Chemin des Vaches).

At the junction with Rue Jean Jaurès, a chemist’s shop bears the name of the mine that once stood there: the Fosse de l’Éclaireur. Opposite, take Rue Arthur Lamendin. Turn into the first street on the left, Rue Victor Hugo.

(3) At the entrance to the first street on the right, Rue de Désirée, stands the Condorcet nursery school, now closed, which was formerly the school run by the Douchy Mines company. Follow Rue de Désirée: at the end is the Fosse Désirée, still in operation for firedamp extraction. Then retrace your steps.

(3) Resume the route along Rue Victor Hugo (on the right if you’re returning from the Fosse de Désirée). Continue straight on until you reach Rue Pascal.

(4) Take a short detour to the right, to where the Fosse Gantois once stood; the mine shaft is marked out. Retrace your steps.

(4) Continue along Rue Victor Hugo, go round a roundabout and take Rue Carnot, which continues from there. When the street bends to the right, carry on straight ahead and immediately turn left into Place Roger Salengro.

(5) Before reaching the end of the square, turn right onto Rue Jules Guesdes. Cross Rue Anatole France and walk pastthe Sévigné-Macé primary school. Then take the first left and enter the Résidence du 2 septembre 1944. At the roundabout, turn right. You’ll pass a small coal wagon and the Lourches water tower.

(6) Join Rue Jean Jaurès and follow it to the right. Cross Rue Léon Gambetta and continue along Rue Jean Jaurès. Go straight on, continuing along Rue de Bouchain and then Rue Arthur Brunet. Go over the A21 motorway and pass the Cité Sabatier on your right.

(7) At the junction (with Rue Paul Lafargue on your right), turn left and follow a track. Further on, you’ll rejoin the tarmac and emerge onto Rue Pierre Bériot (Denain), with the Fosse Renard slag heap directly in front of you.

(8) Follow Rue Pierre Bériot to the right, towards Denain town centre. Carry straight on, ignoring the small side streets. Cross the D1040 and you’ll reach a large roundabout. Note the statue of Cafougnette in the centre of the roundabout.

(9) Go round the roundabout on the right and take Rue de Villars. Continue to the Conservatoire de musique (next to the shopping area): this building, formerly the Jean Bart mining settlement, houses the former home of the miner and poet Jules Mousseron. On the pavement opposite, on the first floor of a shop, are the remains of a former butcher’s shop from the Jean Bart mining settlement, dating back to the days of the mine. Retrace your steps back to the roundabout.

(9) Then take the second left, Rue Arthur Brunet. Cross the A1040 again and carry on straight ahead. After the Baudin bus stop, walk alongside the Werth mining estate and continue straight on.

(7) Carry on along Rue Arthur Brunet and cross the A21 motorway again. Continue along Rue Jean Jaurès. At the junction with Rue Léon Gambetta, take a look at a workers’ mining estate, a remnant of the Cité Bernard. Carry on and you’ll soon come to a junction you passed on the way there.

(6) Carry on straight ahead along Rue Jean Jaurès. A little further on, walk past the Voltaire secondary school. Just after that, at the foot of the church, you’ll come across the monument to Charles Mathieu (director of the Douchy Mining Company). On the other side of Rue Jean Jaurès, noteCharles Mathieu’s former home, now the Lourches Town Hall. Finally, cross Rue Pascal to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

This hike can be done with or without an internet connection (provided you have previously downloaded the hike sheet as a PDF and cached the GPX file). During the hike, you can access a description of each waypoint in the "description" tab by clicking on the waypoint photo located below, under the "nearby" section on your phone/tablet. To best follow your route, switch to the "map" tab; you will see your route appear as you go.

You will need to bring suitable footwear, water, a snack, a phone or tablet (not essential) and appropriate clothing for the weather conditions. Free parking is available near the start point. Return to the starting point.

There are many reminders of the town’s mining past to discover along the route. These are mentioned in the description.

Further information on the source websites:
- Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining basin.
- Douchy Mining Company.
- Denain, the coal town.