Production et la commercialisation de Meules de Moulins à Cinq-Mars-La-Pile. (Indre et Loire)
Full details
| English title | Production and commercialisation of millstones in Cinq-Mars-La-Pile. (Indre et Loire region). |
| Authors & editors | |
| Publisher | Les Cahiers de l'AAMT |
| Year of publication | 2002 |
| Languages | French (main text) |
| Medium | Book |
| Edition | 1 |
| Topics | |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | Summary Translation A collection of chapters on the millstones in mills at Cinq-Mars-La-Pile, a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Gives information on the geography and geology of the Cinq-Mars-La-Pile area. The area is often called Saint-Mar. Majority of it is situated on a limestone layer (and) of flint and clay. The commune got its name from the Saint Medard to whom the church is devoted to. The flint was of such a good quality it was used to make grinding wheels/ millstones. Gives information about the production of millstones and discusses when they could have been made- were they French? Includes citations from written accounts and sources. Discusses the transportation and extraction of the millstones. Discusses whether they were first manufactured as monolith wheels (formed from a single block) but the quality soon meant that changes were made and millstone production formed several ‘tiles’ assembled with plaster and rimmed together. Discusses the extraction from the quarry- the stones were sorted into ‘circles’, a measurement unit corresponding to the amount needed to manufacture the wheel. The stones were then transported to the workshops located in the municipality or directly to the mill to be assembled. Discusses the perilous nature of the transportation of these millstones. Discusses transportation via waterways and courses. Discusses the genealogy of the Brisgault family from around 1756. In particular discusses Jean Brisgault born in 1799 who founded the first millstone factory (in the family), and his son (also of the same name) founded the “Société de Meulières Cinq-Mars” (the society of burrstone of Cinq-Mars) in 1848. Production grew considerably under the leadership of the family. Discusses Mesnet workshops. Discusses the distinctiveness of the millstones. Each wheel had a number- correspondence shows this. This feature is particularly useful because it allows to assess the quantities produced between two known dates. The milltones were shipped across borders in different European countries and different continents. Discusses their decline. |
Copies held
Accession no. 229475
- Shelf location: W 11-DEF
- Donor: Ken Major Collection