Camille de Stoop

In a run down area of the Belgian inner City of Kortrijk (or Courtrai), the old textile mill of Camille de Stoop guards a vast area of wasteland which is surrounded by housing developments and bordered by a canal. The Camille de Stoop Mill is only one of many abandoned textile mills in the area which once served as a major source of income for the local economy. Today the Flanders region is longer synonymous with textile manufacture due to the increasing homogenization of space and only a few textile related headquarters remain in Kortrijk such as Barco.

Camille de Stoop is of a splendid architecturally styled red brick ‘Manchester’ construction that was completed in 1908 and is very similar to the Gothic/medieval finish of the Cheratte mine. Originally built by a Mr de Stoop, in 1928 the Mill changed its production from spinning to textiles and was re-named from ‘Tissages et Filature de Stoop’ to ‘Tissage et Teinturerie Le Canal’.

Over the years the Mill has suffered from several fire outbreaks, one of which was so severe it caused the last occupant company to go bankrupt. Despite some of this building’s misfortunes and minor structural damages, in 2003 the mill became a listed property and currently awaits renovation.