On February 3, 1720, in a pasture in Fresnes-sur-Escaut, a coal seam four feet thick was spotted.
discovery in this place and in this period is not a coincidence.
Indeed, the intensification of energy needs since the end of the Middle Ages, the new frontier of the Kingdom of France and the progress of science and technology lead to this pivotal moment in industrial history.

In the collective imagination, the first industrial revolution dates from the middle of the 18th century (1750).
However, since the end of the Middle Ages, a demand has developed in the Kingdom of France which commits actors to produce.
More and more individuals are now easy enough to acquire products.
The many existing skills will experience a progressive development, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.
This discreet revolution is marked by an improvement in techniques and an optimization of the energies available: muscle, wind and hydraulic, in order to meet the ever increasing demand.
It is based on a fuel essential to all production: wood.
Because to make iron, glass or bricks, to get salt or alcohol, to dye fabrics, you have to maintain thousands of ovens and boilers using wood.
The considerable increase in its consumption, especially for the steel industry, which burns a lot in blast furnaces and forges, causes difficulty in obtaining supplies and causes fear of shortage.
Yet another fuel, coal, is already known; it comes from the cities of Mons and Charleroi which at that time belonged to France.

However, in 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht imposed a new border and henceforth linked these cities to the Spanish Netherlands, effectively cutting France off from its supply.
It is these new geopolitical circumstances that are at the origin of the research for the extension of the Belgian mining basin in the north of France.
Coal becomes a major source of energy when it is understood that it makes it possible to produce steam, essential for the development of industries, through mechanization.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the advent of the steam engine marked the start of the industrial revolution.
It allows you to exceed the limits specific to the force of wind or water and especially those of muscular energy.
Coal is at the heart of this industrial revolution which has marked people's minds as it has brought changes in all sectors and lifestyles.

On the occasion of the tercentenary of the discovery of coal in the North of France, the 1720 exhibition, coal at the heart of the revolutions traces the context of this discovery of coal which will give birth to the Nord-Pas de Calais mining basin and deeply transform this territory.

Exhibition dates and times
Daily, from February 1 to September 20, 2020, except May 1.
In February, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. * Monday to Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. * Sundays and school holidays (all areas).
From March to September, daily from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. *.
* The ticket office closes two hours before.

Exhibition rate
For the exhibition € 6.70
(this price also gives access to all thematic exhibitions, excluding guided tours in the galleries).

Event around the exhibition:
Saturday February 8, 2020
• at 2:30 p.m., opening of the exhibition, open to the public
• at 3.30 pm, conference by Gérard Dumont,
historian and member of the scientific council of the Historic Mining Center. 1720
the discovery of coal at the heart of industrial revolutions
(duration: 1h15)
Free access.

Historic Mining Center
Fosse Delloye - rue d'Erchin - CS 30039 - 59287 Lewarde
www.chm-lewarde.com - Tel. : 03 27 95 82 82