Some nearby lavoirs (old wash houses)

A lavoir is a public place in France set aside for the washing of clothes in earlier times. They are generally sited on, or adjacent to, a spring or river, providing clean and clear running water. Some are set on small diversions of the main stream, often showing ingenious engineering solutions in their design!

Some are very basic, but many of them, as you will see below,  are provided with roofs for shelter from the weather.  To many people, they provide a fascinating glimpse into past French cultural heritage, where not only was washing done, but the ladies of the village could exchange gossip and information.

Ther are many thousands of them throughout France and 882 are logged in the Charente alone, all in various states of repair!!

Some lavoirs are said to date back to the 10th century, but as plumbing was put into more homes, and water became easily available, many of them fell into disrepair. in 1851, a law was passed to compel every municipality, (for the sake of hygiene) to build a covered wash place where water flowed.  The wealthiest municipalities built the fanciest examples! It is good  to see that many have been restored as a reminder of the old days and they are now great tourist attractions.

 The lavoir at St Adjutory, on the river Bellone, is believed to have been built just after 1840, next to a stone road bridge spanning the small river. Note the sturdy oak and stone structure!

This lavoir, as you can see, has a roof and a protecting wall on the north side; this originally had a door in it, which could be closed to protect against the coldest winds. Note the big piece of stone, used either for seating or as a surface for beating or scrubbing the linen.

 Despite the sides of the lavoir here being covered with mud from all the rain we have had, I imagine there would have been a clean place on each side to stand or kneel to do your washing!

To avoid draughts, the arched opening in the bridge is closed by a fixed wooden panel, with another sliding panel below it, capable of being raised or lowered, according to the water level.

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 This enclosed lavoir at Montemboeuf seems to be a total mystery.  It is marked on the large scale ramblers' map, which is how we found it, but there is no history that we have been able to find so far.  On a later visit to the mairie, we were told it was on private property and they had no information!

It looks very smart and well enclosed but sadly the door was locked!

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The lavoir at La Folie, Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure

 has a tiled roof with three sides walled.
  

You can see the presence of a wheel to raise or lower the gate, which controls the water flow. As the water was flowing fast when were there, it was presumably fully open !

it is situated just below the bridge on a small lane, beside the old road to Limoges, see red arrow, and would have supplied washing facilities for the houses in the adjacent hamlet of La Folie.

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This large, but very basic, 5 sided lavoir at Etamenat is now maintained  by a neighbour.  We are told that there is a constant flow of water here, winter and summer and fish have now taken up residence!  There is no obvious sign that it ever had a roof over it.

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I have left to last the one which I consider to be the most beautiful; this is at Lascoux on the river Son. "River" overstates it a bit!!; it normally has a width of 3 or 4 metres (10-13 feet), but has been flooding over the winter, as you can see below.

It  is again sited next to a road bridge over the river and has recently been restored using traditional techniques and materials.

Three washing  large stones still remain!

The water in the main river has been diverted by manually digging a side "arm" which runs through the lavoir, as you can see here. This was done presumably to create a narrower  and more protected water flow, and to perhaps reduce the  effect of the polluting washing soap on the main river.  

I hope that you enjoyed this insight into life in France as it was before water arrived on tap!   I have to say I am very happy that I have a washing machine and that I do not have to trudge down to a lavoir a couple of time a week, regardless of the weather, all year round, as ladies in former times would have had to do!

See also - My Life Before Charente Updated 04/03/2013

and my daily photo diary  HERE

http://photodiarydps.blogspot.com