Timeline

Heritage classified

Origin and history

The windmills of Péronne are located in Chanteloup-les-Bois, in the department of Maine-et-Loire, in the Pays de la Loire region. These two tower mills, built between 1811 and 1850, dominate the water mill and the carriageway of the Péronne pond. Their architecture is identical: a ground floor and two floors, with brick-framed segment arched bays. Only the west tower retained its conical slate roof, while the two towers are now empty of their original mechanisms.

The building was listed as historical monuments by order of 30 May 1978. This classification specifically protects the two mills (cadastre AO 43 and 47), recognizing their heritage value. Their location, near the Péronne pond, suggests a historical role related to the exploitation of local natural resources, such as milling or hydraulic management.

In the 19th century, windmills played a central economic role in the French countryside, especially in the production of flour. In the Pays de la Loire, a region marked by grain farming and dense water networks, these infrastructures were essential to rural communities. The mills in Peronne, by their twin structure and their proximity to a water mill, illustrate this complementarity of milling technologies of the time.

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