Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Moulin de la Tour, attested from 1445 to Cordes-sur-Ciel, is an architectural complex composed of a medieval tower probably from the 4th quarter of the 13th century, a 15th century mill and a 16th century link building. Built in limestone, it housed three pairs of millstones in 1795: two for wheat and one for oil. Its activity ceased around 1865, marking the end of its economic role in the region.

In 1962, the dilapidated roof was replaced by a concrete slab, transforming the top into a terrace to stabilize the structure. Today, there are two pairs of grinding wheels on the ground floor and, in the basement, three cutting stone vats that have hosted the hydraulic wheels. A fourth outer tank, backed by the leak canal, would have served as a tan mill for nearby tanneries, according to oral tradition.

Ranked a Historical Monument by decree of 13 July 1927, the mill illustrates the evolution of hydraulic and craft techniques between the Middle Ages and the modern era. Its hybrid architecture — defensive tower, mill and link building — reflects the successive adaptations of this emblematic site on the banks of the Ceru.

The tower, whose windows suggest a late origin in the 13th century, dominates an ensemble of military functions (monitoring), economics (murture, oil production) and craft (tanning). The final shutdown of the mill in 1865 coincides with the increasing mechanization of rural activities, while its restoration in the twentieth century aims to preserve a heritage threatened by time.

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