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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Senlis mill, mentioned in 1456 as the "mill of Sen Lices", is a former water mill located in Montgeron, Essonne. It was one of the 20 mills installed on the banks of the Yerres, producing flour to feed the Parisian market. The millers, belonging to the affluent peasant class, derived substantial income. The mill, in operation until the 19th century, ceased to function after the river bed was moved.

Over the centuries, the mill has undergone several transformations and uses: mill, private residence, and then reception centre for refugees. In 1901, architect Eugène-Émile Esnault-Pelterie, known for his work at the Musée Grévin, acquired and added Gothic elements, such as bow-buttons. These changes reflect the architectural tastes of the era and the desire to give the building a marked historical character.

In 1927, the estate was bought by a Russian doctor for a charity, marking a new phase in its history. In 2018, the city of Montgeron became the owner of the mill after a preemption, allowing its partial rehabilitation. The project envisages the creation of 26 housing units by the promoter "History and Heritage", while retaining 500 m2 of the historic building, whose destination remains to be defined. The mill is partially listed as historical monuments by order of 10 December 2018.

The site consists of a set of four buildings surrounding an inner courtyard, including a chapel and a park. Among the protected elements are the facades and roofs of the mill (with its wheel), a broken arched gate, a turret decorated in the 1960s by Fiodor Rojankovsky, as well as the church of Saint-Seraphin-de-Sarov, adorned with frescoes made by Father Grégoire Krug between 1960 and 1962. These elements illustrate the different historical and artistic strata of the monument.

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