Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Beauchet mill, also known as the Boschet mill, is a tidal mill located on horseback in the communes of Saint-Père-Marc-en-Poulet and Saint-Suliac, in Ille-et-Vilaine. It is located at the outlet of the Goutte Creek, near the Rance estuary, near the Quinard Mill. Its main granite building is rectangular and has two floors. It is accompanied by a dike forming a 10-hectare pond, isolating part of the stream.

A tidal mill existed on this site before 1542. In 1882 it was completely rebuilt after a fire. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was transformed into a mill, first using tidal force, then a turbine installed before 1930. The milling activity gradually ceased: the use of the tide was abandoned in 1962 for the benefit of electricity, and production stopped permanently in 1981. The mill, its dike and its mechanism were listed as historical monuments in 1986.

Since 2017, the association AMR (Friends of the Mills of Rance) has been carrying out a project to rehabilitate the Boschet mill, in partnership with the owner. This project, supported by the Bern Mission and the Fondation du Patrimoine Bretagne, aims to restore this emblematic industrial and hydraulic heritage. The mill still retains equipment such as cylinders, a blutery and sorters, testimony to its past milling activity.

The Beauchet mill is a rare example of a tidal mill converted into a modern mill. Its architecture combines traditional materials (granit, shale, wood panels) and more recent additions such as reinforced concrete. Its mechanism, partially preserved, illustrates the evolution of milling techniques between the 19th and 20th centuries, from hydraulic power to electricity.

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