Moulin à vent dit Le Moulin Neuf
MonumentHidden Treasure
Standing on the heights of Angrie, Moulin Neuf combines a 17th-century schist tower with 19th-century Berton wings. Restored to its original condition, it still turns in the Anjou breeze.
History
In the heart of the Angevin bocage, the Moulin Neuf - or Moulin de la Marmite - rises with rare elegance above the undulating landscape of Angrie. Its squat, slightly truncated cone-shaped silhouette and chestnut shingle roof make it one of the best-preserved windmills in Maine-et-Loire, a department rich in examples of the traditional milling industry. What really sets this building apart is the legible superimposition of its historical layers: the shale rubble tower bears witness to centuries of local craftsmanship, while the segmental-arched bays framed in brick reveal the modernisation that began around 1865. The installation of Berton wings - large aerodynamic sails with a 17-metre wingspan - gives the mill an almost industrial look, without ever breaking with its distinctive rural aesthetic. The visitor experience here is that of a living mill. Since its mechanisms were put back into operation on 27 December 1980, the building has been working again, offering visitors the rare spectacle of an elm wheel and a century-old transmission driving two pairs of millstones. The creak of the wood, the puff of the wings and the sweet smell of fresh flour are an immediate reminder of a bygone era. The bucolic setting of Angrie completes the picture: from the platform that encircles the tower, you can look out over the rolling green hills of the Segréen region, punctuated by hedges and streams. A timeless place, ideal for lovers of industrial heritage, curious families and photographers in search of golden lights on the rotating wings.
Architecture
The Moulin Neuf is a circular, slightly truncated cone-shaped tower-mill built of grey-blue schist rubble quarried from local outcrops. This dark, robust stone, characteristic of the Segréen bocage, gives the building a mineral gravity that contrasts with the lightness of the wings. The 11-metre-high tower has three levels served by miller's ladders. The bays, reworked when the building was raised in 1865, have a segmental arch profile - flatter than the semi-circular arch - framed in red tile bricks, whose colour contrast with the schist is a distinctive visual landmark typical of 19th-century Anjou. At the top, the rotating cap - a mechanical hat that can be turned to face the wind - is covered in chestnut shingles, a rot-proof wood traditionally used in western France for its resistance to the elements. This cap pivots around the tower to align the axis of the wings with the direction of the prevailing wind. Berton's 17-metre wings are equipped with a system of articulated flaps that modulate the surface area exposed to the wind - a 19th-century mechanical innovation particularly appreciated by professional millers. Inside, visitors will discover a remarkably coherent mechanical assembly: the large horizontal wooden shaft transmitted its rotation to the elm wheel, whose teeth engage the vertical lantern driving the millstones. Two pairs of grinding wheels, each 1.60 metres in diameter, occupied the working level. The 1930 Ruston-Hornsby engine, preserved in situ, completes this exceptional technical inventory, making the Moulin Neuf a veritable living museum of Anjou milling.
Related Figures
Pierre-Théophile Berton — ingénieur français dont le système d'ailes orientables équipe le moulin depuis 1865Les meuniers d'Angrie (XVIIe-XXe siècle) — dynasties locales qui exploitèrent le moulin sur trois sièclesRuston & Hornsby — firme britannique de Lincoln ayant fourni le moteur à huile lourde de 15 CV en 1930Les bénévoles et artisans restaurateurs (années 1975-1980) — chevilles ouvrières de la remise en état complète du moulin
