Referred to as the “town with three bridges”, Marquette-lez-Lille owes its name to the River Marque that flows through it. In 1226, Jeanne de Constantinople, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, built a monastery for Cistercian nuns. She died there while still performing her religious duties in 1244. In 1792, the nuns were banished from the convent which was destroyed by a fire the following year. After the Second World War, the town developed thanks to the arrival of major companies: Kuhlmann, Decauville, Les Grandes Malteries Modernes, Massey-Fergusson, Les Grands Moulins de Paris… These companies have now been largely replaced by tertiary activities. Visitors will enjoy tasting the beer of the Abbey and the local cheese, Tome de Marquette.
Marquillies
Located between the River Deûle and the River Lys, in the heart of the Weppes flat open country, to the West of Lille, Marquillies was founded in the second half of the 12th century, after the forests were cleared and the marshes drained. The village developed around farming which remains a key activity today, in spite of the fact that the tobacco planters have long gone. The Barrois sugar refinery, created in 1850 then joined forces with Beghin de Thumeries, contributed to the development of Marquillies. It was converted into a beetroot processing plant before closing in 1985.
Mons-en-Barœul
Mouvaux
The town’s name is thought to be the result of a shortened form of "multus" (“many”), and "vallis" ("valley"). In 1167, the name of Moulvaux appeared in the archives of the Bishop of Tournai. The first lords of Mouvaux came from a rich bourgeois family from Lille, Liniés, or Le Neveu. In 1312, the fief fell into the hands of Gilles de Tenremonde, another leading bourgeois figure from Lille. In 1315 Mouvaux was the stage for a battle between the King Louis X le Hutin and Robert de Béthune. The fighting came to an end in the locality of le Haumont, a spiritual centre today held by Jesuits. In the Middle Ages, the population of Mouvaux mainly worked in the textile industry, the memory of which is still kept alive in the town in the Peupliers activity centre.
Neuville-en-Ferrain
Located on the old Roman way leading to Courtrai in Belgium, Neuville-en-Ferrain was occupied very early. In the middle of the 12th century, its church belonged to the Saint-Pierre de Lille chapter and the seigniory was ruled by the feudal lords of Lille. The village owed its growth to the textile industry which developed in the 16th century. A fabric known as “Roubaix material” is made there. Economic activity started early influenced by events in neighbouring Tourcoing. Neuville-en-Ferrain, located at the heart of an important motorway hub, is a gateway to Belgium.
Little is known about Mons-en-Barœul before the 16th century. The town endured the events that affected the neighbouring town of Lille. The siege of 1708 reduced it to ruins. It remained a village of farmers, market gardeners and craftsmen for a long time. The first church, Saint-Pierre, only saw the light of day in 1844. At the end of the 19th century, the railways and trams paved the way to a new future. A little later, the town experienced a new development with the massive influx of Belgians. Unlike many Northern towns, Mons-en-Barœul escaped relatively unscathed from the fighting in the two World Wars. This essentially residential area has seen its erstwhile fort turned into a multi-discipline cultural institution.
