Initial construction XVIe siècle (≈ 1650)
Rack mill built with two wheels.
1914
End of milling activity
End of milling activity 1914 (≈ 1914)
Death of the miller during the First War.
août 1944
Partial destruction
Partial destruction août 1944 (≈ 1944)
German troops left after occupation.
13 décembre 1978
Devastating storm
Devastating storm 13 décembre 1978 (≈ 1978)
Loss of wings and tree.
30 juillet 1980
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 30 juillet 1980 (≈ 1980)
Registration for the Supplementary Inventory.
1985-1986
Restoration and inauguration
Restoration and inauguration 1985-1986 (≈ 1986)
Rehabilitation after degradation.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Moulin de la Montagne (Box A 427): inscription by order of 30 July 1980
Key figures
Meunier anonyme - Last operator
Died at the front in 1914, causing the mill to stop.
Origin and history
The Mountain Mill, located in Thouarcé (now integrated in Bellevigne-en-Layon), is a 16th-century, still active rock mill until 1914. Equipped with two pairs of grinding wheels, he ceased his activity at the death of his miller, mobilized during the First World War. This building, renamed the Beauregard Tower, played a strategic role during the Second World War: occupied as an observatory by German troops, it was partially destroyed when they left in August 1944.
In 1978, a storm ripped off its wings and tree, while the hucherolle (moving roof) was dismantled for safety reasons. Despite these deteriorations, the mill was added to the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments on July 30, 1980, before being restored between 1985 and 1986. Its official protection and rehabilitation testify to its heritage importance in the Angelvin landscape, mixing industrial history, military conflicts and local memory.
The site, now known as the Mountain Mill, illustrates the evolution of windmills in Anjou, passed by agricultural tools essential to historical symbols. Its location in Thouarcé, in the department of Maine-et-Loire, makes it a marker of the rural heritage of the Pays de la Loire, between medieval heritage and traces of the two world wars.
The available sources (Wikipedia, Mérimée base, Monumentum) confirm its status as a historical monument and specify its exact address: 5664 Les Gagneries, 49380 Bellevigne-en-Layon. The Insee code of the municipality (49345) officially links the site to the territory of the former municipality of Thouarcé, now merged.
