Abstract EN:

In a specific geographical area, the hydraulic basin of the Andelle river, a human and economic activity center based on the use of hydraulic force as a power source has developed. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the different vocations of these sites are becoming more definite : wheat mill, paper mill, fulling mill and soon economic interests oppose factory owners - farmers - foresters. This data, still relevant just before the french revolution, is determinant for the period of our study, 1780-1880. The evolution of sites throughout the centuries has handed us down a patri- mony of rich but very threatened industrial archeology. To be able to realize its full importance, we have, as a first step, done a methodical study of the sites - building, hydraulic plants, remaining mechanisms - which has allowed us to picture the situation of the Andelle valley up to this day. Then, this process of comprehending each site has implied historical research aiming at the recreation of the valley history. It has therefore allowed us to define the main periods of this "textile industry epic": creation in the first years of the 19th century of new constructions in parallel with numerous mutations in activities, confirming of a "golden age" in textile industry between the years 1840 - 1850, then the progressive slowing down of this industrial valley before the recurrent crisis of the end of the 19th century. This work can only be considered as a modest participation to a general history of the textile industry. . .