Espace Memoire et Patrimoine

On November 11, 2018, the Rumegies Local History Museum project officially saw the light of day. The municipal commission “museum” decided to baptize it “memory space and heritage”. Memory consists in bringing back the moments of the past, the life of the men and the places of the village, the heritage concerns more the natural framework and the old buildings. . This space is the result of a double desire, a historical desire to bring together the attested memories of the village, and the municipality's desire to offer an ideal setting for this kind of creation. The first intention is old and dates back more than four decades. At the beginning of the 1970s, prehistoric and Gallo-Roman discoveries were made on the territory of the town, in particular at the place called Trois Magots and on the banks of the Elnon. In 1979, the prehistoric site was published in the first municipal bulletin. In 1983, under the majorat of César Monnier, a first archaeological exhibition took place in the village hall. Then from 1998 to 2009 other exhibitions are scheduled under the aegis of the three successive mayors Francis Lacquement, Roger Vandeville and Joël Beyaert. The themes are diverse: World War I and Angèle Lecat, World War II and Liberation, civil and religious heritage, schools, border and customs. These exhibitions are based on a series of publications which reveal to the public the richness of the town's past. These editions are provided by regional or local history reviews (Pévèle and Pays de Pévèle review) and even by the town hall which produces its own publications. Other actions are carried out, in parallel with various partnerships, such as the Scarpe-Escaut Natural Park: creation of the chapel ballad, the customs gateways circuit. It is also the rehabilitation of the Aubette du Pont Caillou and the installation of the statue of the customs officer, without forgetting the rescue of the space of the Grand Mortier recently equipped with an explanatory panel. The achievements are always visible as all the publications can be consulted in their entirety in the media library. On the other hand, the exhibitions were by definition ephemeral and each time they were put back in place, the same problem arose: What to do with these different documents or objects exhibited for a weekend? When will there be a room, a “museum” where we could permanently present to the public the testimonies of the past discovered over the years or donated by the inhabitants of the village, who have become for this company the “generous donors” mentioned by the plaque? memory. Rumegies had the contents of a museum, it remained to find the container ... The second decade of the 21st century will be rich in consequences for this project. And it is from the presbytery and the dimière barn that the concretization will come. In 2010 the venerable abbey barn will become a media library. And in the following years the rehabilitation of the presbytery intended to house the services of the town hall will make it possible to integrate a small local museum into the project. In terms of logistics, a “museum” commission chaired by Fabrice Vanden Storme and assisted by Anne-Sophie Ghesquière has been set up within the municipality to ensure the material installation of this ambitious project. She received the efficient help of Marianne Grevet, director of the Saint-Amand-Les-Eaux museum. This space adopts the chronological framework, more accessible to the public and to the school public in particular. It allows you to go back in time to a very ancient time and follow the steps until around the middle of the 20th century. The museum currently consists of 7 display cases and a lapidary set of 4 engraved or sculpted stones. On the wall, frames with authentic documents accompany the progress of the visit. All objects or documents come exclusively from Rumegies. Authenticity was preferred although some of the items presented may appear thin. Some pieces of immediate regional origin are exhibited for educational purposes. It was indeed necessary to proceed to a strict sorting of the documentation and to ensure a refined presentation. The idea is not to present an exhaustive history of the municipality but to give a global overview arousing interest and the will to deepen according to the publications.