Bauffe

Bauffe is a section of the common Belgian of Lens, located in Walloon region in the Province of Hainaut.

Apart from the trades related on the agriculture and the local production of food or drinks, only one industry was born there: a sugar refinery in the years 1935.

In 1940, the Germans built there an airport which was worth 14 bombardments by the allies to him.

Bauffe is crossed by the Brune which is thrown in the Dendre.

Etymology

Germanic batu , “profit” and ahhja , “meadow”, the name of the locality would mean “fertile meadow”.

Finale in effe=avia=ahwjo=pré wet and bat=îlot ==>interprétation=la meadow on wet ground

Orthography in the old texts

1119 : Baaphyium
1122 : Bahaphyum : charter of the bishop of Cambric which allots the furnace bridge of Bauffe to the abbey of Saint-Ghislain
1122: Bôfe
1140 : Bafia
1179 : Bafa
1186 : Boffe
1190 : Baudouin V the courageous (count of Hainaut 1171 - 1195) gives 24 Bonnier S of its grounds located at Bauffe.

History

With the Middle Ages, Bauffe was a stronghold of the châtellenie of Ath, itself vassal of the count de Hainaut then department of Jemappes before becoming Province of Hainaut.

Religieusement, it depended on Cambric diocese, then of Tournai, décanat of Chièvres. Currently common of Lens, district of Mons, police court of Lens.

The seigniory of Bauffe at certain times was joined together with that of Tongre-Our-Lady, but in addition to the lord of Bauffe one found the lords of Hée, Brantengien and Ghislenghien.

The abbeys of Épinlieu and Cambron were they also " seigneurs" of a small stronghold with Bauffe.

The farm of Planty was one of the multiple properties of the abbey of Cambron.

The seigniory of Hée passed in the hands of various families (of Chasteleer, of Barebançon, Berlaimont, Lannoy, of the Bar, D' Egmont-Pinatelli) before being sold in 1767 with Jacques-François de Sécus, lord of Bauffe, which thus held the most important territory of Bauffe.

Its descent was with the capacity before and after the Révolution of 1789.

One finds the baron François de Sécus and his son Frederic Bourgmestre of 1813 to 1894 and their heir the count de Hemricourt de Grünne to 1813 with 1894.

The agricultural vocation of the place is already attested in the old texts by the mentions of " Supposed of Hée" , " supposed of Planti" then later " supposed of Mambour" and " supposed Delmotte".

This agricultural richness was the cause of good of devastations and inter alia, at the time of the civil war between the Spanish empire of Philippe II and the Netherlands which was held between 1578 and 1585.

The October 4th 1582, the soldiers of the duke of Parma place in Bauffe and in the neighborhoods, they plunder the harvested crops, steal the horses and terrorize the population.

The troops of the General states of the United Provinces arrive a few days later…

This civil war and nun between reformed catholics and, ruin the entirety of the chatellery of Ath like the whole Netherlands.

Bauffe and its population

Its inheritance

The Saint-Brice church and vaults

At the origin, the worship was probably fixed in the vault castrale of Hée as it was the usage.
In 1875, the lord of Bauffe restores the worship in this vault. The parish church, whose Dîme S went to the abbey of Saint-Ghislain, was probably located in the cemetery where there exists a vault which could be built at the place of the chorus of the primitive church.

The count de Sécus gives a ground to build there a new church which is devoted in 1846 by the bishop of Tournai.
His construction by the Motte company of Lens began in 1843 according to the plans of the architect athois Limbourg, specialist in the electric style and here it is the architectural vocabulary neo-gothic which was employed.

The church was very shaken by the bombardments combined during the war 40-45, insufficiently restored in 1950, it had to be definitively closed with the worship in 1977 to be demolished in 1990.
Lors of the disassembling of the bell-tower, the cock appeared literally sifted balls.

The new construction devoted in 1992 astonishes somewhat in the landscape bauffois: its contemporary pace, with a Bell-tower, runs up against the glances, accustomed which they were with the elegant neo-gothic church that they always saw but change of time, change of style, reduction in the frequentation of the offices and budget oblige, of more modest dimensions and a current style were privilégiés.
Un ecu carrying the weapons of sécus was replaced in frontage, while a vault built with materials of re-employment was set up on the Crypte containing the tombs heirs to this family.

Several vaults or Potale S dedicated with the Virgin mark out the space of Bauffe.
Parfois, they were set up at the instigation of the monks of Cambron who were very attached to the Culte of Marie.

The convent

Towards 1840, exiled Jesuits French build in Bauffe a very vast convent with a chapelle.
After their return in France, this building falls to German Ursulines (Hanover) which make a boarding school of it, then a domestic school for young girls which closes its doors in 1918.

Since then, the building is in ruin.

The farm of Planty

Together enclosed last third of the 18th supplemented century of appendices more récentes.
With face of street, beautiful home of the tournaisien type with stringcourses, aligning 7 spans on a basis of hardcores and on the left one 8th span in retrait.
Windows with bars; stage low bored of three small bays carrées.
Putlog-holes and let us modillons in moulding plane on stringcourse. Face on of the same court character but without stringcourse nor bases out of hardcores; attic window assembles-charge.
On the right, return towards the barn to two broad similar spans, without stringcourse. Bâtière of éternit with croup on the right.
In withdrawal, perpendicular barn out of hardcores overbuilt and widened out of bricks; bâtière of tiles with coyau. Other dependences of less intérêt.
This farm is located at 6, rue des Raves, 6

The farm of Mambour

Mr Plissart, at the time owner of the farm of Mambour installed a distilling of sugar in his buildings at the beginning of the 19th siècle.
Its nephew François Hayois installs there a Sucrerie in 1936.
This small industry passes by heritage in the hands of Jourez.
In 1915, an underground drain connected the installation of Bauffe to the rapery of Lens.
Bauffe was connected to the local road for the transport of the Betterave S and the Sucre.
In 1923, the regroupings of the sugar refineries cause the closing of the factory of Bauffe whose material is repurchased by the Tirlemontoise refinery.

The castle

The castle was built by Procope-François-Xavier de Sélys, end of the 17th century in style classique.
It is described as follows:
“The modern castle pertaining to the count de Grunne is decorated of a vast giboyeux park; the greenhouses and Orangerie S which borders the castle contain plants exotic, cultivated well. ”

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