Moulin de la Saulaie
MonumentHidden Treasure
Moulin de la Saulaie, located in Candé (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
- Candé, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5550, -1.0475
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109002
A stone sentinel standing on a rocky outcrop overlooking Candé Castle, the Moulin de la Saulaie still retains its rare directional wind vane and Berton sails, which stand as intact reminders of 19th-century milling in the Anjou region.
History
Perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Segréen countryside, the Moulin de la Saulaie is one of the few tower mills in the Maine-et-Loire region to have preserved most of its original orientation system. Far from being a museographic reconstruction, it offers visitors an authentic encounter with the milling architecture of Anjou, in a state of preservation that is both a historical testimonial and a romantic ruin. What immediately sets the Moulin de la Saulaie apart from its counterparts in Segre is the presence of its directional guivre - a piece of wood or metal in the shape of a hinged weather vane used to manually turn the cap and wings to face the wind. While most of the region's tower mills had adopted the automatic turning winch or reel by the 19th century, this one has retained this older mechanism, making it a valuable example of traditional milling know-how. The three-storey tower rises with typical Anjou sobriety. Its thick walls, probably built from local granite, bear witness to the care taken in its construction to resist the prevailing winds of the Erdre valley. The tower cap, which has now come to a standstill and sagged slightly on its raceway, nevertheless retains the domed silhouette typical of tower mills in western France, adding a touch of picturesque melancholy to the whole. The visit is above all a contemplative experience: walkers discover the building as they arrive via the paths that wind around the neighbouring château, and the view from the rocky eminence over the surrounding bocage is a reward in itself. Photographers and enthusiasts of vernacular architecture will find here a subject of rare heritage coherence, far from the tourist crowds.
Architecture
The Moulin de la Saulaie belongs to the tower-mill family, the dominant type in the Segréen region and more widely in western France. Set on a natural rocky spur that gives it both extra height and a solid granite base, its cylindrical tower rises three storeys, the thick walls of which are probably built from granite rubble, an omnipresent material in the geology of northern Anjou. The two-metre heightening carried out in 1865 can be seen in the slight break in the masonry marking the junction between the old base and the 19th-century crown. The most remarkable feature is the revolving cap, a domed wooden frame covering the top of the tower and housing the main drive mechanism. It rests on a circular raceway and can, in theory, pivot freely to face the wind - an orientation controlled here by the guivre, a long projecting part used as an aerodynamic rudder. This device, now immobilised and slightly collapsed, nevertheless retains its formal integrity. In addition to the windvane, the horizontal drive shaft (the solid wooden axle that transmits the force from the wings to the grinding wheels) and part of the yards (the arms that support the wings) have survived, although the pivoting verrons that allowed the Berton blinds to be adjusted have disappeared.
Related Figures
Pierre-Théophile Berton — ingénieur et mécanicien français, inventeur des ailes Berton à jalousies orientables installées en 1865Les meuniers anonymes du Segréen — artisans qui exploitèrent le moulin du XVIIe au début du XXe siècleLes propriétaires du château de Candé — dont le moulin constituait probablement une dépendance économique au fil des siècles
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Moulin de la Saulaie located?
Moulin de la Saulaie is located in Candé, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Moulin de la Saulaie built?
Moulin de la Saulaie dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Moulin de la Saulaie open to visitors?
Moulin de la Saulaie is currently closed to visitors.