Prochain point : lat="49.006327" lon="1.96201"
Hervieux communal fountain-washhouse
No washing of dirty laundry next to the drinking water...
A washhouse that was widely used...
This spring was first mentioned in 1808. It was built as fountain-washhouse following the law of February 3, 1851 on hygiene and public safety. In 1898, the building was entirely covered with a zinc-tiled roof supported by cast iron pillars. The so-called compluvium roof collects rainwater. The water recovery basin is called the impluvium. The materials used, from the industrial world, were transported aong the Seine. Moreover, the further away from the Seine, the less zinc and iron you find.
Access is quite steep. Yet this is where the women pushed their barrows up and down to rinse the linen. These washhouses and fountains were very popular, and the local inhabitants demanded their regular upkeep.
Women were particulary fond of these convivial places which they frequented daily.
At the end of the nineteenth century there were seven washhouses in Vaux-sur-Seine. Regulations were sometimes required. Thus, in 1827, it was stipulated that it was forbidden to "wash clothes at the spring where water is taken for drinking."
... And has recently been restored
It was restored in 2010 and is only open at certain times. The restoration work channelled the water and restored satisfactory water flow.
