First written entry 1425 (≈ 1425)
29-year-old lease between Saint-Satur Abbey and Jean Gontier
entre 1770 et 1790
Adding a third level
Adding a third level entre 1770 et 1790 (≈ 1790)
Installation of a blutery by Jean-Jacques Achet
1850
Modernization of the mechanism
Modernization of the mechanism 1850 (≈ 1850)
Replacement of wheels with cast iron system
après 1945
End of milling activity
End of milling activity après 1945 (≈ 1945)
Judgment relating to the electrification of the countryside
2010
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 2010 (≈ 2010)
Protection of the building and its hydraulic system
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The entire mill building, including its mechanisms and equipment; the room adjoining the mill, on its northern facade, in full; the appentis construction leaning on its west façade, in full; the hydraulic system (the upstream and downstream or rear-bief - including fishing, weirs and valves depending on it); facades and roofs of the house; the facades and roofs of the barn (cad. A 7, placedit Tirepeine, 15, placedit Le Champ du Bas, 792, placedit Tirepeine ; ZB 59, placedit La Prée des Cottereaux): inscription by decree of 20 July 2010
Key figures
Jean Gontier - Meunier
First known tenant in 1425
Jean-Jacques Achet - Owner and farmer
Adds a floor around 1770-1790
Origin and history
The water mill of Tirepeine, mentioned in 1425 under the name of Thirepoynne mill, was a mill mill dependent on the Abbey of Saint-Satur, probably its builder. Rented to a miller named Jean Gontier for 29 years, he operated thanks to the River Salereine, a tributary of the Grande Sauldre. This mill, one of the most important in the region due to its 1,000-metre range and a 4.50-metre fall, was equipped with two wheels until 1850, when a single 3.60-metre-diameter bearing wheel replaced them.
In the 15th century, the mill had only two levels. A third floor was added between 1770 and 1790 by Jean-Jacques Achet, farmer of the Pezeau estate, to install a bluterie, a key tool to modernise the milling. The current mechanism, dated 1850, includes a cast iron gear system multiplying the speed of wheel rotation by ten. This English mill used a single wheel to actuate simultaneously grinding wheels, screws of Archimedes, bucket elevator and blutoir, thus optimising flour production.
The mill ceased its activity after World War II, a victim of rural electrification that made the small mills obsolete. Despite the degraded condition of its wheel, its mechanism, turns and hydraulic system (peef, fishery, valves) remain remarkably intact. Ranked a historic monument in 2010, it illustrates the technical evolution of pre-industrial milling, from its medieval foundation to its 18th and 19th century modernizations. The site, opened during the Heritage Days, also includes the miller's house and a barn- stable, typical of local architecture in ironware sandstones and wooden panels.
The buildings, built in stoneware and covered with flat tiles, still house the traces of successive developments: ground floor dedicated to machinery, mill room on the first floor (with three turns, including one for animal feed), and attic equipped with the belltery. The hydraulic system, powered by a 1,000-metre upstream bief, testifies to the ingenuity of millers to exploit the water force in this small natural region of the Pays-Fort, north of the Cher.
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