Léglise   ▪

Ebly
The Mellier ironworks
The valley of the Géronne mills
The village of Léglise
Thibessart
Volaiville

The Mellier ironworks

Year of thanks 1615
A horse-drawn carriage trundles its way along the paths between the Chimay and Mellier ironworks. It is transporting François de Gozée, land owner of Macquenoise, to a meeting with the Duke of Aremberg on his hunting estate in Mellier.
- 'Did you have a good journey, Monsieur de Gozée?'
- 'Ah yes sir, it was a long journey to get to you! But I didn't encounter any problems. I'm very happy to be able to satisfy your desire to put all the deadwood in your area to good use. It will be far better to use it than to leave it lying on the ground.
- 'When do you think you will start work? Your documents on the subject are particularly clear and as you can see, I am delighted about it.'
- 'Without delay of course! As soon as I am settled in the house which you have been kind enough to make available to me - tomorrow without a doubt - I will get straight onto the staff hired in accordance with my instructions. The first job will be to raise the dyke of the lake. At the same time, my men will clear the area where it will later be situated. If I can find reliable carpenters to carry out the initial work, we will begin the water wheels next month: the first for the wet stamp mill, the second for ventilating the furnace and the third for refining the cast iron.

It's important not to forget the staff needed to construct the machinery for setting the water level. In agricultural areas such as ours, it is difficult to find sufficient labour in Summer when everyone is in the fields harvesting the crops.
- 'The charcoal makers I will hire in Winter' continues François de Gozée, 'will teach the agricultural workers, who no longer have any work to do, the technique of manufacturing wood charcoal. There needs to be an abundant supply before the first batch of cast iron can be produced. My friend and associate Pierre Coens will be in charge of the furnace: this piece of factory equipment will guarantee the success of the company.'

Autumn 1616
Most of the buildings are now built. The charcoal store has been covered over and a certain amount of charcoal is already in storage. The lake is half full of water. The two master ironworkers are busy with their team of workers. The shape and structure of the furnace must be perfect and built according to the best techniques around.

1617: following several attempts, initially very conclusive, the first cast iron was produced. Initially one ingot was produced: this was cooled in a mould, tested and returned to the master ironworkers: 'Gentlemen, we have a quality product here. The ore is excellent and the furnace gives us great hopes for the future.' The running of the furnace was mastered: 1400° and the right combination of iron ore, charcoal and limestone, a flux which enables the melting temperature of the ore to be decreased.

The future will not disappoint. However, an unfortunate event occurred in 1634: the lake was insufficient to power the machinery. The smelting process had to be abandoned and was transferred to neighbouring ironworks. Only the refinery remained where the cast iron was transformed into steel. The years passed. Various different owners took over. They included: Henri Roussel, Dandemiaux, Hacher and Claude de Chamissot.

1724. A banker from Villers sur Semois became owner: Henri Henriquez. He died in 1730. His widow remarried the successful industrialist and duke Looz-Corswarem, who already owned several ironworks:
- 'My dear husband, we are in the position of being able to expand the lake. Its water supply will then be sufficient for us to reopen the furnace.'

This operation was completed in 1758. It represented the heyday of the Mellier ironworks, lasting for half a century. However, it should not be forgotten that the ironworks, opened during the previous century, were initially opened with a view to utilising the deadwood in the forest. This period is now long gone. In the end, trees had to be felled – in moderate numbers initially but later in increasing quantities. The Mellier ironworks used some 65,000 steres of wood per year. This meant that many hectares of forest were being felled each year. Furthermore, the iron and steel industries of the Upper Mellier region were not the only consumers of wood. The populations of Lower Mellier, Rulles, Habay-la-Neuve and Habay-la-Vieille also required wood for building and heating.

The forest became a desert.

The French Revolution was brewing at the doorway to this little world. It was no longer desirable to be rich and noble and even less, like the Looz-Corswarem, to speak German. Mellier had to close as a result of the French embargo on products from over the border. Furthermore, competition for charcoal as well as the hegemony of the Liège and Charleroi basins tolled the knell for the Mellier ironworks in 1805.

All of the ironworks left behind deep scars in the forest landscape: the wood exploitation techniques used damaged the forest. During the 19th century, only a vague recollection remained of the forests which are now so much admired at the beginning of the third millennium. In 1854, the forestry act was introduced with a view to restoring the forests, in particular through the introduction of a previously unknown species in the area: the spruce !

In 1856, in a final attempt to maintain industrial activity on the site, two lime kilns were installed. Burnt lime was frequently used in Ardennes to fertilize soils.