When the Industrial Revolution began in the early 19th century, Roubaix already had a 300-year-long history of manufacturing; 3 centuries of competition with Lille, which since the 13th century had privileges giving it a monopoly on the manufacture of fabrics. In 1469, Lord Pierre of Roubaix obtained from the Duke of Burgundy the right for the people of Roubaix to manufacture coarse cloth (finer fabrics were still the preserve of Lille). From that date until 1791, year of the abolition of Lille’s last trading privileges, the people of Roubaix worked constantly around these privileges by dint of courage and innovation to develop manufacturing that in the early 19th century was already known throughout the world.
During the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution gave the town the technical innovations needed to develop its industry. Roubaix grew at the same rate as some English or American cities thanks to a steady influx of immigrants from Belgium: from 8,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the century to a population of 124,000 in 1899.
At the same time in 1880, Israel Craye Jean-Baptiste, then a young apprentice who had come straight from Belgium, founded a small factory in the rue de la Fosse aux Chenes in Roubaix. In 1914, together with his two sons Peter and Maurice, he created a cloth mill in the rue de Nancy, and specialized successfully in the manufacture of furnishing fabrics, which experienced a boom.
The towns of Roubaix and Tourcoing were, until the 60s, France’s leading textile centre and had links throughout the world (purchase of raw materials in Australia, buying counters in South America, branches of Roubaix factories in Eastern Europe and North America).
In the 60s, in response to unfavourable economic conditions, some Roubaix textile companies diversified their production, like the company Craye et Fils, which began to manufacture reproduction medieval tapestries.
In 1992, the family business was bought by the Belgian group Flemish Tapestries, specializing in tapestries, cushions, handbags, etc. Anxious to preserve and pass on this knowledge, Mr. Persyn, CEO of the group and informed amateur historian, founded in 2001 the Jacquard Museum in part of the Roubaix production site. In 2008, it was transferred to the Bergerau site in Cysoing. Mr. Persyn sold the museum’s collections to the city of Roubaix, which bought the buildings to keep alive this slice of textile history.
In January 2009, the Jacquard Museum was renamed Manufacture des Flandres – Textile Museum and Workshop.