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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Scée mill, located in Gizeux en Indre-et-Loire, is the last of the eight water mills that used to operate in this municipality, thanks to the waters of the Changeon marking the boundary with Continvoir. Although its existence was attested by the map of Cassini in the 18th century, its present structure, marked by an elevation and enlargement, dates mainly from the 19th century. Traces of recaptures in the masonry suggest modifications related to the installation of machinery and a semi-automated product transport system, while some bays have been closed or reduced, as evidenced by a rectangular bay on the north-west facade.

The mill, composed of five levels dedicated to milling, has retained almost all its original equipment: grinding wheels, cylinders, grain cleaning equipment, winches, and bags. On the ground floor, a rotunda housed the old mechanism operated by a wheel, subsequently replaced by a vertical turbine. The last miller, trained in the regional mills, worked there from 1930 to 1972 and modernized the building into a small cylinder mill. His son, who assisted him for eight years, is now the owner. A door opened in the 1930s, replacing a semicircular bay, facilitated direct access from the landing dock.

The adjoining buildings, such as the roadside house and the bakery built at the beginning of the twentieth century by the penultimate miller, appear on a plan of 1930 but not on that of 1849. The millers supplemented their incomes with a vegetable garden and the raising of pigs, rabbits and poultry. The mill, its facades, its roof, its adjacent shed and its bypass bay with vanage were inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of 11 May 2000, thus preserving a rare technical and architectural heritage.

The location of the mill, although documented (address: 201 Moulin Scée, 37340 Gizeux), remains a priori satisfactory accuracy (level 6/10). Its history reflects the adaptation of traditional mills to the industrial progress of the 19th century, while illustrating the way of life of millers, between artisanal activity and agricultural complement. The map of Cassini and the plans of 1849 and 1930 offer key time markers to understand its architectural transformations.

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