Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

La Font'Grand is a water fountain located in Clairac, Lot-et-Garonne department. Powered by a source of Roche Park, it was the main public source before the Revolution. Its reservoir, partly carved from the rock, is arched in warhead and decorated with a woman's face carved. The decorations of the caps and the keystone allow to date this part of the sixteenth century. The fountain was outside the medieval enclosure but inside the bastioned fortifications of the seventeenth century.

The classical facade, marked with dates 1638 and 1909, bears the Latin inscription "AND ANNI AND UNDAE" ("The years flow like a wave"). The date of 1638 probably corresponds to a first restoration, while 1909 indicates a major renovation, including the installation of a washhouse in front of the fountain. The latter was renovated in the 1990s. The fountain and its hydraulic system (excluding modern washhouse) have been listed as historic monuments since 19 April 1996.

The reservoir, built of cut stone and brick, features grey limestone warheads and brick vaults. The façade, coated to simulate a continuous bossing, is decorated with a full-circle arch door closed by a iron gate. The fountain illustrates the evolution of public water requirements from a medieval spring to urban equipment integrated with modern fortifications.

Owned by the municipality, the Font'Grand bears witness to the importance of water points in the organisation of pre-industrial cities. Its architecture combines defensive elements (position in the bastions) and utility elements (laveurage added in the twentieth century), reflecting successive adaptations to the needs of the inhabitants.

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