The Historic Trail In the footsteps of Watten's past

Depart from the town of Éperlecques, latitude 50.8262324 (N 50° 49’ 34”), longitude 2.2077337 (E 2° 12’ 28”)

From 1912 to 1960, a big industry.
The buildings, offices, ovens, dryers and storage area stretched for nearly a kilometer along the north bank of the Aa across from Gare Street to Saint-Omer. The clay was extracted from the Montagne quarry, now a natural site of Lac Bleu (free visit).

Site of the old spinning mill.
In 1852, Adolphe Vandesmet set up his first workshops in the Rue de l'Ermitage in Watten in the row of houses starting at the corner of rue de l'Église. In 1865 the spinning mill was transferred to the Gare street to be enlarged. The proximity of the railway was not unrelated to the establishment at this location of the plant which was also supplied directly by boats, thanks to a platform located along the railway. The barges reached it by the Bomb, a tributary of the Aa, and the Reninghe.

Ancestral know-how.
Around 1900, Chantiers de la Colme, Hénon, Morette and Fortry were the main construction sites for wooden barges. The sites were located along the Aa, the raised bridges on the towpath still indicate their locations. The Fortry yard, located in front of the information panel on rue de Saint-Omer, is still active, it is one of the only ones in the region. Another construction site was located along the now deflected Colme, in the hamlet of Wattendam, next to the Tanneries.

Link between the two banks.
After the collapse of a bridge dating from 1881, a double fixed stone bridge was built in 1891. It was destroyed in 1940, mined in 1944 and rebuilt, and replaced in 1951 by the current bridge.

The historic heart of the town.
The rue de Dunkerque, the main axis of the town, replaced the rue de l'Ermitage in the 19th century as a route to Saint-Omer. The square has always been the heart of the city, the shopping street has developed along the canal that passed under the square through an aqueduct. The name "Résidence la Brasserie" was given to the building supporting the information sign in memory of the Pannier brewery, one of Watten's breweries that once operated there.

A village belfry, founded in 1236.
The parish established at the top of the mountain, the monastery founded in 1072, was transferred to the town in 1236. The cult of Saint-Gilles already present at the abbey continued to be followed. A novena always takes place on the days of September 1st, the feast of the saint protector and healer.

An entry into the city which was the gendarmerie.
This street today unique axis of entry into the city coming from the Mountain connects "the upper city" to "the lower city". Its small width on one half is explained by the fact that it was not open to traffic, it used to lead to the Aa canal and was called "rue de l'Abreuvoir".

Three courses in a century.
The layout of the Aa was changed at the end of the 19th century and in 1967 because of size adjustments, to accommodate ever larger barges: each time the river bed was filled (rue de Dunkerque, Place Leveaux).

From the small river to the big size.
Until the end of the 19th century, the Colme was born at the post office, then it was moved twice with the template Freycinet then the large size. The entire urbanization of downtown Watten is therefore related to the passage of the canal in the city center, which explains the width of the tracks and sidewalks built on the bed of the old canal.

Vestige of a long fluvial history.
The embanked bed of the Colme is a vast area of promenade established on the bed of the canal, it is still today the delimitation between the communes of Watten and Holque. Do not hesitate to discover this place, to pass in the basin of the lock which has been preserved. The route continues towards the TGV viaduct to the edge of Millam. It also allows to discover the new lock built on the large canal.

From the swing bridge to the drawbridge.
The footbridge known as "Eaux de Houlle" was built in 1905 to pass the now underground drinking water pipeline. Next to it, the Coquelle bridge was built in 1885, replaced in 1944 by a drawbridge, and removed in 1967 with the deviation of the large-scale Colme. Notice in front of the old bridge the locksmith's cottage. We are here in Holque.

On the banks of the river.
The Aa passed in front of the Saint-Michel city from the end of the 19th century until 1967. With the large size the canal was moved to the back of the houses, and the place Leveaux filled the old course. The Place du Rivage allows to dock in the city center by boat. The upgraded Place Leveaux is the start of a wooded and green axis, established on the backfilled bed of the Aa.

Hikes & walks in Éperlecques