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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The water mill of the Theoule, located in Cordes-Tolosannes in the Tarn-et-Garonne, is a fortified flour mill built between 1480 and 1520 by the Cistercian monks of the Belleperche Abbey, of which it was an outbuilding. The building, made of Roman brick, presents defensive elements such as two scallops (including one derailed) and three murderers, giving it the appearance of a mansion. He also housed the miller's housing. This mill, still in operation until 1952, was restored between 1977 and 1980 and classified as Historic Monument in 1984.

The mill is in solidarity with a bridge-barrage called "bridge des Ânes", with a sinusoidal 11 arch line, built of brick on stone-cut foundations. Equipped in 1919 with four pairs of wheels (of which water chambers and metal wheels remain), he also produced electricity via a turbine. Its architecture reflects its dual use: industrial (meunerie) and defensive, typical of the Cistercian constructions of the region at the hinge of the 15th–12th centuries.

The site, installed on the Gimone after a 130 km course, illustrates medieval and modern hydraulic ingenuity. Its inscription in the Historical Monuments (decree of 12 May 1984, completed on 5 December 1984) protects its facades, roofs and the barrage bridge. Today, it bears witness to the local economic and religious history, linked to Belleperche Abbey, and the evolution of milling techniques over nearly 500 years.

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