End of activity 1914-1918 (≈ 1916)
Stop oil production.
milieu du XIXe siècle
Construction of oil plant
Construction of oil plant milieu du XIXe siècle (≈ 1950)
Building and mechanisms probably installed.
6 décembre 1996
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 6 décembre 1996 (≈ 1996)
Protection of buildings and equipment.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Building of the oil plant, including the appentis and the oven it covers (excluding the hangar adjacent to the south-east gable) , as well as the animal traction press, the rapeseed mill and the corner press with its tank, buildings by destination it houses (Box BS 177): inscription by order of 6 December 1996
Origin and history
The former oil factory of the village of Arcy, located in Peyrat-la-Nonière (Creuse), is a modest building probably built in the mid-19th century. Although its architecture has no remarkable features, its interest lies in the integral preservation of its functional equipment. It includes a mill made of two granite monoliths, connected to a rapeseed mill by a gear system, as well as a corner press with a monolith tank. These devices, originally operated by animal traction, illustrate the artisanal oil production techniques at that time.
The oil factory played a local economic role in producing feed oil and lighting oil until World War I. Its activities are part of the rural context of Limousin, where small agricultural processing units were essential for peasant communities. The mechanisms, which remain in place, offer a rare example of pre-industrial seed pressure processes, before they decline in the face of modern industrial methods.
Ranked among the Historical Monuments by order of 6 December 1996, the protection specifically concerns the main building (including its appentis and oven), as well as the interior equipment: the animal traction press, the rapeseed mill and the corner press with its tank. These elements, referred to as "buildings by destination", highlight the heritage value of technical know-how and tools associated with this type of rural craft.
