Bully-les-Mines () is a commune in the

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It forms part of the Lens-Liévin agglomeration community, which encompasses 36 French communes and 250,000 inhabitants. For many years it was a major

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

center.

History

The name of Bully-les-Mines has frequently had various forms over the centuries: from ''Bulgi'' (in 1135), to ''Bugi'' (1152), ''Builli'' (1157), ''Bullia'' (1198), ''Bully'' (1270), ''Boulli'' (1303), ''Buylly'' (1410), ''Builly-lez-Aix'' (1486), ''Builly-lez-Grenay'' (1511), ''Builly-en-Gohelle'' (1569), ''Bully-en-Gohelle'' (1709), ''Bully-Grenay'' (1750), ''Bully-en-Gohelle'' (1782), and finally ''Bully-les-Mines'' in 1925. According to many sources, the name has

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

origins. Ricouart proposes that "Bullire" derives from the French "bouillonner," a reference to the source of the river

Surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

in a neighboring commune. The current use of "les mines" indicates the importance of mining to the commune and the region. The train station has maintained the older name of Bully- Grenay, leading to occasional confusion among travelers. Although the region has been inhabited from prehistory onward, no evidence of prehistoric settlements has yet been found at Bully. The oldest relic so far discovered in the commune is a Celtic bracelet; Bully once belonged to the "Pagus Silvinus" region of the Atrébates. Gallo-Roman discoveries have been numerous within the commune. During the sixth century, Bully came under the spiritual leadership of the

bishop of Cambrai-Arras This is a List of bishops and archbishops of Cambrai, that is, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai. Bishops For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras. On the death ...

. As an integral part of

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

, Bully fell under the domination of the

Counts of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the ...

from 862 to 1191 before passing with the rest of the region to French control. Governed directly by the French Crown from 1191 to 1237, the town and region remained part of France until 1384, when they submitted to the rule of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. A brief return to French control between 1477 and 1492 ended in an absorption into

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

territory, which lasted until the region returned definitively to France with the 1659

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees(; ; ) was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were conducted and the treaty was signed on Pheasant Island, situated in the middle of the Bidasoa River on ...

Misfortunes of Bully

Bully's close proximity to three military strongholds -

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a town in northern France, Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department. Geography Béthune is located in the Provinces of Fran ...

, and

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

- often situated it in the path of war. In 1213 the village was raided; in 1303 it was destroyed completely, even its trees cut down. In 1348 a third of the population fell to the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

, which returned four times in the next century, alternating with

famines A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usuall ...

and

wars War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

. In 1537 Bully was sacked by the troops of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

, and similar misfortunes continued until the French took Lens in 1556-1557. By this time Bully was so destitute that the victorious French proved unable to levy a tax on its inhabitants. In 1648, the village billeted troops involved in the

Battle of Lens The Battle of Lens (20 August 1648) was the last major battle of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). A French force commanded by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé defeated a Spanish army under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm. The battle cemen ...

. From 1709 to 1712, Bully was buffeted by the advances and retreats of armies fighting in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, a situation aggravated by an epidemic that killed 24 villagers. In 1796, a fire destroyed half the village, an event commemorated by the present-day "Chemin brûlé."

Coal mining

In 1852 the first site explored by the

Compagnie des mines de Béthune The Compagnie des mines de Béthune, sometimes called the sometimes called the Compagnie de Grenay after the name of the concession, was a French coal mining company in the Pas-de-Calais that was established in 1851 and nationalized in 1946. The c ...

was near the village of Bully. The land was poorly wooded, so the company had to bring timber and workers from

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

. On 17 February 1852 the drill hole reached coal at . Sinking of Mine 1 at Bully began on 26 March 1852, and the mine came into operation in 1853. In 1853 7,000 tons of coal were extracted. This rose to 21,000 tons the next year. Excavation of Mine 2, with a diameter of , was started on 20 November 1855 at Bully-les-Mines, and reached coal at . The shaft passed through an underground aquifer, for which a pumping machine was needed. Extraction started in February 1859 in a very rugged deposit. In December 1859 a decree allowed the company to build a railway from Bully to Violaines. Decrees of 29 August 1863 and 8 March 1865 authorized the Mines de Béthune to extend their railway network to

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. A limited company named the Compagnie du Chemin de fer de Lille à Béthune et à Bully-Grenay was formed on 11 May 1865 to operate the railway. In 1865 a more modern engine was installed in Mine 1 with two horizontal cylinders. In 1868 the Davaine ventilator in Mine 2 was no longer adequate and had to be replaced. By 1880 Mine 2 had produced 720,000 tons in total and was deep. In November 1869 eighteen workers were asphyxiated by fumes from a fire. Mine 1 was completely renovated in 1876, with a new engine installed. By 1880 Mine 1 had produced a total of 1,280,000 tons of coal, and had reached a depth of . Shaft 1bis was added in 1889 and Shaft 1ter in 1911. The Étoile Sportive de Bully was founded in 1920 by the Company with a sports complex considered the most modern in France. There were five football pitches, one with stands for several hundred spectators, dressing rooms with showers, individual lockers for players. Members could also practice gymnastics, boxing and athletics. Mine 1 was closed in 1961, backfilled in 1971 and the headframes destroyed in 1973. Mine 2 was closed in 1968, backfilled in 1970 and the headframe destroyed in 1974.

Population

Administration

Michel Vancaille, former vice-president of the Conseil Général of the Pas-de-Calais, served as mayor of Bully-les-Mines from 1989 to 2002, when he was replaced by fellow

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

François Lemaire.

Sights

The bell tower of the Church of Saint-Maclou is inscribed in the French registry of historic sites and monuments.

Personalities

* David Faupala,

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

André Strappe André Louis Strappe (23 February 1928 – 10 February 2006) was a French professional footballer who played as a forward, and later served as a manager. Club career Strappe was a player for Lille, Le Havre, and Nantes, and then a player-mana ...

Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe (born 29 March 1939) is a French politician of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) who has been serving as a member of the Senate since 2001. Early life and career Vanlerenberghe was born in Bully-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais. H ...

, mayor of

and

MoDem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...

Senator for the

References

Sources

* * *

External links (in French)

The website of the Town of Bully-les-Mines

The website of the Lens-Liévin Communaupole

The website of the Bully-les-Mines Youth Centre

The website of the Espace François Mitterrand in Bully-les-Mines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullylesmines Communes of Pas-de-Calais Populated places in Artois