First hydraulic certificates XIIe siècle (≈ 1250)
Hydraulic site mentioned for the first time.
XVIIe siècle
Processing into a mill
Processing into a mill XVIIe siècle (≈ 1750)
Initial use before milling of wheat.
Début XVIIIe siècle
Conversion to wheat mill
Conversion to wheat mill Début XVIIIe siècle (≈ 1804)
Change of main activity of the site.
1911-1936
Expansion and re-equipment
Expansion and re-equipment 1911-1936 (≈ 1924)
Modernisation by Ludovic Gélin, current machinery.
Milieu du XIXe siècle
First structural changes
First structural changes Milieu du XIXe siècle (≈ 1950)
Partial modernization of facilities.
Années 1960
Cessation of milling activity
Cessation of milling activity Années 1960 (≈ 1960)
End of flour production.
Années 1990
Tourism rehabilitation
Tourism rehabilitation Années 1990 (≈ 1990)
Open to the public by the municipality.
1991
Registration Historic Monument
Registration Historic Monument 1991 (≈ 1991)
Protection of machinery and buildings.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Part that houses the mill and all its machinery, including: vertical hydraulic wheel, gear system and transmission system (rings. . . ) in the basement ; pair of wheels with funnel, triple-effect Marot sorter, two double cylinders of Teisset, Chapron and Brault Frères, rheostat and ball regulator on the ground floor; cleaning apparatus combined with a wind tunnel, transmission belts, two bluters and a wheat brush on the square floor (Box AB 193): inscription by order of 29 August 1991
Key figures
Ludovic Gélin - Meunier and moderniser
Head of work from 1911 to 1936.
Origin and history
The Pont-l'Abbé watermill, located in La Mothe-Saint-Héray, has its origins in the 12th century, where a hydraulic site is already attested. Turned into a tan mill in the 17th century, it became a wheat mill in the early 18th century. This monument illustrates the evolution of milling techniques, with architectural and mechanical traces marked by successive redevelopments.
In the mid-19th century, the mill underwent structural changes, then major modernization between 1911 and 1936 under the impetus of the miller Ludovic Gélin. The equipment still visible today – hydraulic wheel, wheels, cylinders, and transmission systems – are mainly from this period. These elements reflect two key phases of milling industrialization between the 19th and 20th centuries.
The mill ceased its activity in the 1960s, before being acquired by the municipality of La Mothe-Saint-Heray. Since the 1990s, it has been designed for tourist use, thus preserving an industrial heritage representative of the New Aquitaine mills. His inscription as Monument Historique in 1991 protected his machinery, including rare pieces such as the Marot sorter or the Teisset and Chapron Brault Frères cylinders.
The architectural ensemble consists of buildings made of coated stoneware, covered with hollow tiles, with the exception of a corrugated metal hangar. The miller's housing, with a square floor and a top, contrasts with the manufacturing workshop, partially buried. This configuration reflects the adaptation of the mills to the technical and residential needs of their time.
The machinery preserved provides a complete overview of the milling process: in the basement, the vertical hydraulic wheel and gear systems operated the upper stage mechanisms. On the ground floor, a pair of grinding wheels, a triple-effect sorter and double cylinders allowed the wheat to be processed, while on the first floor, the flour was refined by a wheat brush and blubber. These arrangements, still in place, underline the ingenuity of pre-industrial and industrial techniques.
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