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Tour du Lait Buré and Belle Maison

Tour du Lait Buré and Belle Maison

Tour du Lait Buré

In 1903, Achille Tillier, architect and founder of the Tillier brewery, acquired a field in Eugies. He then designed and built a tower called La TOUR du LAIT BURE. The name comes from a Picard Borain dialect word “Ël laitbûré”, meaning wild watercress. In this picturesque location, Tillier opened a small inn (known locally as a “cabaret), which quickly grew into a guinguette (tavern), where he could sell his various beers.

Originally, this building had a flat roof where guests could watch nature or hunt, or musicians could sit and play (until the advent of the record player, which replaced these small orchestras after the First World War).
It was not until 1955 that Victor-Léon and Léon-Willy Tillier, respectively Achille Tillier’s son and grandson, had the roof repaired and modified by a Dutch company to give it its conical shape (the roof was rebuilt a second time in 1985).

In 1972, the TOUR du LAIT BURE was completely renovated. This transformation made it possible to install a counter built to match the circular shape of the tavern and the central access to the drinks cellar, add an annex called ‘Gambrinus’ able to accommodate around twenty people, and create a terrace and a play area. Since then, La TOUR du LAIT BURE has retained its authentic charm and has become a rustic destination – the ideal watering hole after a walk through nature. Today, it is simply known as “La Tour” and includes a restaurant.

This building is listed as a monument in the cultural real estate heritage of Wallonia.

Belle Maison

Forced to leave the court of Louis XIV in disgrace, François de Salignac de la Mothe, known as Fénelon (1651–1715), was sent to Cambrai as bishop. The Borinage and the woods belonged to the bishopric, and he stayed here regularly between 1695 and 1715. Having tasted its picturesque charm, he built the “Belle Maison” on the edge of the woods, designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, great-nephew of the architect Mansart, to serve as his residence.

To harvest the timber of the “Bois-l’Evêque” (Bishop’s Wood), he built the Avenue de la Belle Maison (now Avenue Fénelon) taking on a long-term lease of inter-communal land. This provided a route for oak trees felled in Colfontaine to reach the boats on the Haine for transportation on to Flanders and France.

After changing hands several times, the building is now the property of the Church, as part of the Fabrique d’Église de Pâturages.

It served for a time as a school with its own chapel (now destroyed). This building is a listed monument.