Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Moulinet forge, located on the left bank of the Lemance at Saint-Front-sur-Lémance (Lot-et-Garonne), has been exploiting local resources since the 18th century: iron ore, charcoal wood, and water to operate the bellows. Its blast furnace, powered by these elements, initially produces sugar boilers exported to the West Indies and aratory tools. The valley, rich in slags called "canails", bears witness to an ancient metallurgy, first via blast furnaces, then blast furnaces such as the one at Blanquefort, cited in 1676.

During the Revolution, the forge was converted into the production of cannons for the Royal Army, but its activity declined in the early 19th century, especially after 1811. In 1816, a report described a abandoned site, with a dilapidated furnace and a fusion method close to the Catalan technique. The recovery after 1820, encouraged by protective customs duties, allowed Mr. Laulanié to obtain in 1830 the authorization to modernize the factory, including a two-light martinet and a blower machine. Production peaked in 1832 with bombs for Toulon, employing 24 workers in 1840.

The Free Trade Treaty with England in 1860 struck the edge of local forges, unable to compete with English irons. Laulanié sold the Moulinet in 1868 to Jean Costes, who diversified production (cements, sawmills) before the site finally ceased its steel industry in the 1950s. The blast furnace, rebuilt before 1857 and marked with the inscription "P. Rimontel, 1854", is one of the last of the Quercy to use charcoal. Ranked a historic monument in 1975, it is now restored by the descendants of Costes.

The history of the forge is marked by influential families: the Laulanié, owners since the 18th century, the Fumel-Roquefeuil (local teachers), and the Costes-Rabot, who are attempting industrial conversion. The technical (lack of coal) and economic (foreign competition) challenges explain its decline. The remains, including the pyramidal blast furnace, workers' housing, and a storage hall, offer a rare testimony of pre-industrial metallurgy in New Aquitaine.

Architecturally, the site maintains a cutting stone blast furnace, reinforced with iron draughts, with a vaulted guellar in full hanger. The auxiliary buildings (management housing, fuel hall) date back to the 19th century. A blade wheel used to actuate the bellows and hammers, while a later added cube allowed a second fusion. The forge, disused around 1950, was briefly reused to melt agricultural scrap before it was preserved.

External links