Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Cromary's town hall-lavoir, located in Place de la Mairie, is a public building built between 1830 and 1833. This original building combines two essential functions for village life: a town hall in the upper part and a public washhouse in the basement, accessible by three cryptoportic arcades. A paved grating, framed with retaining walls, leads to the wash-house and an adjacent drinking-place, illustrating an architecture adapted to the slope topography of the terrain.

The project was designed by Pierre Duret, then inspector-voyer of the district of Vesoul in 1830. The project was supervised by architect Théodore Lebeuffe and entrusted to Bon, a company based in Chaux-La-Lotière. The building, of stripped architecture, reflects the practical needs of rural communities in the 19th century, where multipurpose public spaces centralized administrative and domestic activities.

Ranked Historic Monument by order of 7 December 2015, the town hall-lavoir is fully protected, including its exterior elements such as the paved ramp, stairway and retaining walls. This status underscores its heritage importance as testimony to the 19th century collective infrastructure in Franche-Comté. The property belongs to the commune of Cromary, in the department of Haute-Saône.

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