Ancien centre social

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

This building is constructed in the black village, a social district, which houses railwaymen with the most modest salaries, among whom many large families. Life there is very particular, marked by the passage of trains which replace the clock for its inhabitants. At all hours of the day and night, railwaymen in blue work clothes leave for work or return from it, often covered in grease. They are nicknamed the blackfaces (the term "Black Village" comes from this). A family atmosphere prevails within the district: families help each other, organise outings together. This district has retained this railway soul. A large part of the dwellings, now privately owned, are still inhabited by active or retired railwaymen. In the middle of the black village district, a metal building housed the office of a social worker. She would receive women and infants and visit families to meet their needs. Activities for women were organised there: manual work, cooking, games. Since the 1930s, a social worker held office hours there to help railway families in their everyday lives.

Description

The Thouars railway station came into service in 1873. To house its employees, the railway company built residential dwellings. The oldest ones, in stone, are located opposite the station, on rue Danton. After rue Rabelais and the former depot café (recently dismantled), a new district named 'Village Noir' appears, built in two phases: the first around the First World War, the earliest built in bricks and stone, the later ones constructed from a metal framework and prefabricated elements. This type of affordable housing was designed by the Forges de Strasbourg company for several railway towns in France such as Nantes, Le Mans, Thouars and Rouen and its surroundings. This company had launched a competition in 1928 for the production of metal housing in series. The winners of this competition were the trio of architects Adrien Brelet, André Le Donné and Oscar Nitzchké, pupils of Auguste Perret. 500 houses of this type were built in 1929 and 1930 for the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer de l'État. The façades are composed of corrugated sheet metal painted green, the colour of passenger coaches and steam locomotives. They have a washroom and toilets inside the house. This house has just obtained the 20th-century Heritage label and in a few years will have the protection of Historic Monument (Registration on the Supplementary List of Historic Monuments) as it is today the only one preserved. The metal towns of Le Mans and Nantes Blottereau were demolished. In the middle of the district a metal house housed the office of a social worker. Activities for women were organised there: manual work, cooking, games... A leisure centre where children could meet. At the social centre, hygiene and childcare were taught to the women of the district. They could consult the railway doctor there free of charge.