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SENNECEY HERITAGES

 

WASHHOUSES AND FOUNTAIN

The function of the washhouse was recognized as early as 1630, according to the historical dictionary of the French language. However, it was only at the end of the 18th century that washhouses appeared in response to a need for hygiene following the recurring epidemics that decimated the population.
 

Each hamlet in our commune has its washhouse, a quintessential social space where women gathered to do laundry and exchange all the latest village news.
 

 

Old Mill Fountain

Old Mill Fountain is a square stone fountain, topped with a four-sided tiled roof supported by wooden posts. It feeds a nearby washhouse via a stone channel.
 

 

 

Old Mill Washhouse

The Old Mill Washhouse, built in 1821 in the hamlet of Viel Moulin, is an open stone-and-wood lavoir with a central rectangular basin and a four-sided tiled roof. Once a communal laundry point, it reflects the village’s historic water-based life and remains a protected heritage structure.

Moats Washhouse

Moats Washhouse is a small washhouse built inside the former château’s moats, accessed by a stone staircase. Originally open-air, it later received a simple wooden-post roof.
 

 

St Julien Washhouse

Saint-Julien Washhouse is a 19th-century village washhouse built of local limestone, featuring a stone basin fed by a natural spring. Its flowing water system and traditional tiled roof made it an essential communal place for washing clothes and village social life.
 

La Farge Washhouse

La Farge Washhouse is a small rural washhouse in the hamlet of La Farge. It was once used by local residents for communal laundry.
 

 

 

Sens Washhouse

Sens Washhouse is a semi-buried communal washhouse at the heart of the hamlet of Sens. Once a shared social space where villagers washed laundry and exchanged news.
 

 

Ruffey Washhouse

Ruffey Washhouse is a small rural wash-house set below the road near the old Château de Ruffey. With its square plan, stone basin, and adjoining fountain, it once served as a gathering place where villagers came to wash laundry and share daily news.