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The mill
On an official paper called "la carte de Cassini (feuille n° 32, le Dorat) “ we can find the mill under the name ‘Le moulin de Douzy’ at the end of the 18th century. In the 1824 land register we can find the premises of the mill (without the house) and the second building, where our house and the gites are situated. This means that the mill, our houses and the gites date back to somewhere before 1824.
The mill back then --------------- -------------------- _-----___________-------- The mill now _-____
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The house next to the mill dates back to the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the 20th century. The mill itself should have been renovated at the moment where the annex of the house (left on the picture) was renovated. Our houses, the gites were renovated at the end of the 20th century. The mill was especially used to produce oil from nuts or to produce flower from wheat and rye. This can be concluded, since the time and the fact that there wasn’t a tannery nearby and also because of the mechanical devices, which are still in excellent keep.
The mills round Confolens
The whole region round Confolens, even widespread in the Charente, holds numerous beautiful mills. The existence of the area, which is full of mills, dates back to the Middle Ages.
The watercourses and waterpower coming from there, were governed by the authorities and religious departments. When it was finally discovered that watercourses and its waterpower also had industrial and artisanal benefit, soon many mills and dams were built along canals and rivers. In the region round Confolens you can see those dams especially along the river Vienne and Gloire and along the stream Marchadaine, which drives our mill.
The adjoining picture gives you an idea of the different mills and their purpose in the region of Confolens at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Our mill is situated in Lesterps, along the river Marchadaine.The mills’ purpose
In the early years, the mills were used for flower, oil (made of nuts) and tan production for the tannery. The latter was for that matter very polluting and brought along a lot of malodour. Therefore, there came a lot protest against tanneries and mills between 1768 and 1775. The controversy caused a small trial, which was held in the court house in the capital Angouleme. Nonetheless, they continued to produce leather, because there was great demand from the army, hospitals,…
After some time many tanneries disappeared because of the continuing controversy. From 1841 onwards, one could find only in and around Confolens the tannery from Parat Blondon, Saint Germain on the rivers Vienne and Issoire and the tannery in Sainte-Radegonde around 1880. All tanneries, which functioned according to the old and polluting principal, disappeared eventually by the end of the 19th century. The tanneries did not disappear completely, but functioned through an ecologically sound system. These new tanneries can still be found along the stream Vienne in Saint Junien (Haute-Vienne).
The mills’ transformation
At the end of the 18th century the number of mills decreased because of the more modern tanneries. In the region around Confolens there were eventually 11 mills left. The remaining mills were transformed and produced flower from wheat and rye and oil from nuts.
This transformation and technical revolution in the milling house has been illustrated to this very day, since the 18th century mechanical device in a number of mills around Confolens has been very well preserved. One of the mills is our mill: Moulin de Douzy. A number of other mills are called ‘Les Moulins de vieux ruffec’ in Champagne-Mouton, which is situated along a tributary of the river Argentor and ‘Le Moulin d’assit’ in Manot is situated on an island along the river Vienne (which is a place worth seeing along one of the kayak routes.)
From the 1870s onwards a number of mills in the region around Confolens underwent another transformation for the production of paper (such as ‘ Le Moulin de Puygrenier’ in Confolens from 1874 till 1973) or fabric (such as ‘L’ancien Moulin de la Roche in Confolensn, which was transformed into a spinning mill in 1873).
To this very day, the remaining and preserved mills are no longer used for industrial or artisanal productions, except for the micro power station of Puygrenier in Confolens.
At a half hours’ drive we again come at an area with a lot of mills and with ‘Le Moulin de la forge’, a real magnet. This mill was beautifully renovated and today it is still used to produce oil; it is definitely worth a visit. More information about the mill and visiting hours are to be found on the website: www.walnut-oil.com
