Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie
MonumentHidden Treasure
Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie, located in La Possonnière (Maine-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- La Possonnière, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3839, -0.7308
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109232
Sentinelle de schiste ardoisier dressée sur les coteaux angevins, le Moulin de la Roche incarne trois siècles de meunerie du vent : restauré et remis en rotation en 1980, il tourne encore fièrement avec ses grandes ailes Berton.
History
In the heart of Anjou's Loire Valley, in the commune of La Possonnière where the poet Ronsard was born just a few miles away, the Moulin de la Roche - also known as the Moulin de la Franchaie - rises like a dark stone beacon above the vineyards and meadows of the Layon. Its slate schist tower, encircled by two metal frets, is an elegant reminder of the architectural sobriety typical of windmills in Anjou, quite distinct from the windmills of Beauce or Normandy. What makes this windmill truly exceptional is its functional longevity and the integrity of its internal mechanics. Enhanced and modernised between 1860 and 1870 with the adoption of the Berton system of planked wings and a Watt regulator, it combines two generations of milling technology in a single building: the craft tradition of the Ancien Régime and the mechanical ingenuity of the Second Empire. Its fifteen-metre wingspan, clad in Oregon pine planks, spread out over fifty-two square metres - a remarkable aerodynamic performance for a mill of this region. A visit to the Moulin de la Roche is a rare plunge into the bowels of a working mill from Anjou. From the ground floor, where the bags were packed, to the top floor housing the two pairs of millstones, each level traces the fascinating production line. The hedgehog, the crowns and the sifting machine on the first floor all bear witness to a mechanical organisation of clockwork precision, powered entirely by the force of the wind. The natural setting enhances the experience: perched on its promontory, the mill overlooks a panorama of hedged farmland and vineyards that has hardly changed since the 17th century. Photography enthusiasts will appreciate the golden light of late afternoon, which makes the dark schist of the tower glow and cuts out the large white wings against the Anjou sky. Families, industrial heritage enthusiasts and lovers of the Loire region will all find it an unmissable stop-off, just a few kilometres from the Château de Serrant.
Architecture
The Moulin de la Roche tower is built entirely of slate schist, the characteristic metamorphic rock of the Anjou subsoil, which gives it that dark, almost mineral hue so distinct from the limestone mills of Central France or Brittany. Circular in plan, it measures eight metres in height and six metres in external diameter, with a remarkably thick wall: ninety centimetres at the base, reduced to seventy centimetres at the top to lighten the structure without compromising its solidity. Two metal hoops, added in 1906, encircle the tower and bear witness to a desire to keep the building in full working order. The six-and-twenty-metre-long oak drive shaft is inclined at thirteen degrees to the horizontal - a slight downward slope designed to naturally direct the grain towards the millstones by gravity and to better resist the force of the wind. This tree drives the fifteen-metre-span yards, which are armed with Berton-system wings: adjustable, one-centimetre-thick strips of Oregon pine with a maximum surface area of fifty-two square metres. Inside, the spatial layout follows a strictly functional logic: the ground floor is given over to the flour bagging area, the first floor houses the transmission mechanism - hedgehog, gearwheels and sifting machine - while the second floor, under the movable cover that can be tilted to face the wind, houses the two pairs of millstones and the wind motor assembly. This tripartite layout is typical of late-modern tower mills in Anjou, optimised to minimise handling and maximise mechanical efficiency.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Serrant (propriétaires suzerains au XVIIe siècle, sous l'autorité desquels le moulin fut construit)Guillaume Berton (inventeur du système d'ailes à planches adopté lors de la modernisation de 1860-1870)James Watt (dont le régulateur centrifuge fut adapté à la meunerie éolienne du moulin)Pierre de Ronsard (poète de la Pléiade né à La Possonnière en 1524, figure tutélaire de la commune)
Tags
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie located?
Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie is located in La Possonnière, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie built?
Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie open to visitors?
Moulin à vent dit Moulin de la Roche ou de la Franchaie is currently closed to visitors.
