LE LAVOIR ET L'ÉOLIENNE
Original heritage located in Marles-en-Brie, a washhouse and its windmill which functioned until the early 1960s.
Hygiene being a 19th century preoccupation, the project to build a wash-house in Marles was launched in 1872. At the edge of the village, on voirie Charlot, a pit was dug on which a framework consisting of 11 posts, a capping and drying racks was built. This basic building played its role until 1897, when a second project, conceived by the mayor, Mr Sablonnière, was launched. This wash-house, consisting of a closed building, reinforced by ten buttresses and covered with a gable and glazing roof, could accommodate up to 30 washers. There were at each corner of the building a washroom, a laundry room with a flanged boiler, and a tool shed. Two tanks fed by a 10 m deep well, powered by a windmill fixed to a metal structure, provided water for the inner basin. A drain plug ensured the evacuation of the waste water into the discharge stream. In 1923, the windmill of the elevator was replaced by an engine. The wash-house was operational until the early 1960s, when Marles-en-Brie was provided with running water. A few metres from the entrance door, there was a pond used as a trough for cows and horses. It was filled in 1974 for sanitary reasons. The wash-house and its windmill, which have benefited from some conservation measures, were listed as Historic Monuments in 2014. However, their state of dilapidation is a cause for concern. A serious renovation would be necessary to safeguard this original heritage.
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