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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The water mill of Airan is a building of the 4th quarter of the 17th century, built in 1682 as indicated by the date worn on its structure. Located in Valambray (Calvados, Normandy), on the right bank of the Muance, a tributary of the Dives, it illustrates the architecture of the flour mills of the Caennais region. Its rectangular plan, made of small limestone apparatus, includes accommodation for miller. The hydraulic wheel, which was subsequently redone, is a side wheel with wooden troughs and a metal hub, operating a classic mechanism: cast iron transmissions on the ground floor and grinding wheels on the first floor, probably installed at the end of the 19th century.

The mill was listed as historic monuments by order of 13 February 1975, recognizing its heritage value. Its mechanism, including gears and gears, is characteristic of the water mills of that time, designed to grind the grain by exploiting hydraulic force. The site, located under Cadastre D 109, maintains an intact record of pre-industrial milling techniques in Lower Normandy.

The precise location of the mill, 25 Rue des Moulins in Valambray, corresponds to the address recorded in the Merimée base, although some sources also mention the neighbouring town of Airan. This duality may reflect an administrative evolution or a historical transcription error. The building, still standing, offers a rare example of an active water mill until the modern era, before its heritage protection.

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