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Origin and history

The Meillant blast furnace, built in 1768 for Duke Armand-Joseph of Bethune-Charost, replaces a pre-existing mill on the Champange site. This charcoal stove, characteristic of the second half of the eighteenth century, produced iron-transformed cast iron in the Charenton forges. Its architecture combines a square shell in limestone bellows, reinforced by wooden beams, and a square chimney for smoke removal. The industrial complex, organized in a linear manner, also included a coal hall, worker housing, and the clerk's house.

The blast furnace ceased operations in 1841, leaving room for a tannery that occupied the premises until the 19th century. In the mid-20th century, only the remains of the furnace remained, the other buildings being in ruins. The gargoyle bearing the date of 1768 and the stone structures still bear witness to this early industrial period. The site, registered with the Historical Monuments in 1991, illustrates the evolution of metallurgical techniques and the adaptation of productive sites to changing economic needs.

Originally integrated into a production network including forges in Charenton, the Meillant blast furnace operated thanks to a pair of bellows operated in a dedicated chamber. The casting hall, adjacent to the oven, allowed to recover the cast iron before its transport. The abandonment of the site in the 19th century reflects the decline of traditional metallurgy in the face of the nascent industrialisation, while the subsequent tannery marks a local economic conversion. Today, the furnace remains the only visible element of this missing industrial complex.

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