Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière
MonumentHidden Treasure
Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière, located in Cherrueix (Département 35), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Cherrueix, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6057, -1.7236
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090531
A granite sentinel overlooking the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, this 19th-century tower mill, now converted into a home, embodies the wild, windy soul of Cherrueix's Breton coastline.
History
On the shores of Mont-Saint-Michel Bay, on the north coast of Ille-et-Vilaine, three cylindrical silhouettes stand out in the Cherrueix landscape like landmarks against the sea horizon. The Colinassière mill is one of these stone witnesses, which for decades captured the steady winds blowing in from the open sea, transforming the force of the air into flour for the local population. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1977, it is one of an exceptional trio of granite tower-mills, unique in Brittany for their coherence and location. What sets the Colinassière mill apart from its immediate neighbours is its double life: in addition to its original purpose as a mill, the building has been cleverly converted into a home. This conversion, common for mills abandoned at the turn of the twentieth century, has not erased the imposing volumes of the tower or its rough, austere architectural character, typical of Armorican granite. The visitor experience - an outdoor one, as the mill is an inhabited private property - offers above all a dialogue between vernacular industrial architecture and a grandiose landscape. Nearby, the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel unfurls its shifting horizons, its spray-swept grasslands and some of the most spectacular tides in Europe. Photographers will find the low-angled morning or evening light an incomparable natural setting. Cherrueix itself is a street village spread out along the coastline, renowned as one of the leading centres for sand yachting in France. The proximity of the GR 34, the famous customs path that runs along the entire Brittany coast, means that you can make the discovery of the mill part of a coastal walk lasting several hours, crossing polders, dykes and enjoying the breathtaking view of Mont-Saint-Michel in the background.
Architecture
The Colinassière mill belongs to the type known as the "tower mill", the most elaborate and widespread form in 19th-century France for windy regions. Unlike pivot mills, where the entire structure rotates on a central axis, the tower mill has a fixed cylindrical masonry body, with only the top cap and wings pivoting to face the wind. This arrangement offered much greater structural stability and more living space on each level. Constructed from granite, the emblematic material of Breton and Norman architecture, the Colinassière mill features a carefully assembled structure of bluish-grey granite rubble, forming thick walls designed to withstand the bay's violent winds. The tower, whose volume is comparable to that of its two counterparts in Cherrueix, rises over several storeys accessible by an internal spiral staircase. The openings are few and small, a functional characteristic of tower mills designed to preserve the rigidity of the whole. The conversion to residential use necessarily altered the interior of the mill: floors, partitions and domestic equipment replaced the grinding mechanisms - millstones, wooden gears and bed shaft. The hat, a conical cap traditionally made of timber covered with shingles or tiles, still crowns the cylindrical silhouette, even though the wings have long since disappeared. This distinctive profile, visible from afar across the flat coastal countryside, remains one of the most iconic features of the Cherrueix landscape.
Related Figures
Les meuniers successifs de la Colinassière (XIXe-XXe siècle), gardiens anonymes de la tradition meunière littoraleLes propriétaires fonciers du Val Couesnon, seigneurs historiques détenteurs des droits de mouture médiévauxLes bâtisseurs artisans tailleurs de granit locaux, auteurs méconnus de ces tours du XIXe siècleLes inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant porté la protection de 1977
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière located?
Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière is located in Cherrueix, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière built?
Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière open to visitors?
Moulin à vent numéro 2, dit de la Colinassière is currently closed to visitors.
