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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The tower of the Duc d'Uzès mill, located in Uzès in the Gard, is a medieval building built between the 13th and 14th centuries. It is distinguished by its fortified barn appearance, with two vaulted floors and bossed exterior walls, some of which are carved. The tower is independent of nearby buildings, such as the water mill known as the Duke's mill and the adjacent farm, although it shares their agricultural and defensive history.

On the ground floor, the broken cradle vault contrasts with the first floor, vaulted on diagonals with X-keys decorated with roses. The piers on this floor retain traces of a steep or corbelling, suggesting defensive or utility use. Inside, the vaults carry a wide variety of workpiece marks, testimonies of the artisans who worked on the site. The exterior apparatus, marked by bosses, reinforces its character both agricultural and military, typical of the constructions of this period in Languedoc.

Classified as a Historical Monument by order of 14 October 1963, the tower illustrates the medieval civil and defensive architecture of the region. Its inscription protects a heritage linked to milling and seigneurial activity, in a context where mills and their dependencies played a central role in the local economy. The approximate location (926 Route de Saint-Quentin) and its state of conservation make it a remarkable vestige, although little documented on its precise uses beyond its original function.

The accuracy of its location is considered passable (note 5/10), perhaps reflecting uncertainties about its exact location or its integration into a wider today ' s extinct whole. The available sources (Monumentum, Mérimée base) underline its architectural interest, but leave in suspense details about its social history or its possible owners, excluding the name Ducd Uzès associated with the nearby mill.

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