Why did the Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery choose to move to Forest?

Belgium used to be the second most industrialised country during the Industrial Revolution. Although, in the beginning of this new era, Wallonia was the industrial hotspot – most notably the cities of Liege and Charleroi - the region of Brussels had overcome it in terms of number of workers by 1920, only being overtaken by Antwerp in the 1970's.

Industrial activities in Brussels were concentrated in the municipalities surrounding the Brussels-Willebroek and the Brussels-Charleroi canals – usually referred to as "the canal" : from Neder-over-Heembeek and Haren in the north, through the city centre and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and then following through to Anderlecht, Forest and Uccle in the south.

In reality, it was not by coincidence that the industrialisation of Brussels followed the canal. The Brussels-Willebroek section follows the natural course of the river Senne up to river Rupel in order to reach the port of Antwerp. In its turn, the Senne has been used since ancient times for transporting people and goods, confirming the industrial and commercial vocation of its basin area.

Nonetheless, as the trade flows kept increasing and the city was enlarging demographically, the river became too small. Building a canal was mandatory! The permission for starting the works was given in 1436 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. However, the project was blocked for a long time and took more than a century before being finally completed. Since the creation of the first section (Brussels-Willebroek) in 1561, it has been expanded and enlarged several times to fit commercial and industrial interests.

Bruxella - Map of Brussels by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, 1571. The River Senne and the Brussels-Willebroek Canal can bee seen on the left corner of the image. (c) Royal Library of Belgium. Source: www.cartesius.be

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, coal supply became a significant issue. It was essential for the city both for heating and industry. Indeed, as steam power was becoming ubiquitous, the city needed tons of coal daily to feed the boilers of every engine and train in Brussels – which was becoming the railway hub of Belgium. The idea of creating a canal between Brussels and the coal-rich region of Charleroi, which had been on the cards for more than a century, became more pressing, and was finally realised under the insistence of coal bosses, traders and artisans. The digging of the canal started in 1827 under Dutch rule and was concluded by now-independent Belgium in 1832. It was also enlarged several times afterwards.

If the canal itself could already be considered as a very attractive argument for bringing industrial activities to its surroundings in the last decades of the XIXth century, industrialists had other important reasons for hurrying up to do so. In a time of frequent periods of growth and industrial expansion, the city centre of Brussels was becoming too tight for many companies. That meant having trouble expanding their facilities as well as receiving raw materials and dispatching the finished products. Space and fluidity were essential!

The Brussels-Charleroi canal and the 'Boulevard de l'Entrepôt'. Guido Vanderhulst Fund.

Moving to or establishing new businesses in districts like Forest thus seemed an obvious choice. That meant buying large plots of land for low prices; building and renewing facilities according to demand; and the possibility of owning direct railway connections. This is pretty evident in the case of Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery. As many other companies, the brewery invested in plots near the railway and the canal area in Forest. It made receiving coal and grains, and later distributing its beers both in Belgium and abroad, easier.

Wielemans-Ceuppens Brewery's direct railway connection. Photo taken from the magazine “La Belgique Industrielle”, probably published in the early twentieth century. Guy Moerenhout Fund.

Plot map of the municipality of Forest : with mutations. 1842 – 1879. By Philippe Christian Popp. (c) Royal Library of Belgium. Source: www.cartesius.be

Therefore, it was not by coincidence that the industrialisation of Brussels followed the canal, the railway and moved to the most distant neighbourhoods (they seemed pretty far back then!…) in the north-south axis of the Brussels region.

Walking through these neighbourhoods is walking through Brussels' industrial history. Even though most industries have now been closed for years or have moved (in the outskirts of Brussels, thus repeating the same cycle!), some of their buildings are still there to testify of Brussels' great industrial past.

Further informations :

You can read more about the industrial landscape of Brussels in the booklet “Hommes et Paysages n°9, Itinéraire du paysage industriel bruxellois – 30 km de Forest à Evere” (FR) by the Royal Belgian Geographical Society, La Fonderie and the French Commission on Culture.