A mill is first and foremost a wheel that a river turns, or wings, in the wind. But that's not all! There is indeed another kind of mill, the tidal mills.
Tidal mills
Immediately, we think of the strength of the tides, both rising and falling, and their ability, thanks to this strength, to turn a wheel.
Well, not at all!
The tidal mill is built on an open plot at low tide, with a wheel in its centre, and, behind it, a vast site surrounded by walls that forms a pond, communicating with the mill through wooden doors. When the tide rises, the wooden gate rises, and lets water into the pond. When the tide is low, the miller opens a valve, the pond empties... and the wheel turns.
The Birlot Mill
The Birlot tidal mill was built between 1633 and 1638, the owner is the Duke of Penthièvre, illegitimate son of Henri IV, and lord of the island of Bréhat, a title that is nevertheless quite important for such a small island!
It was a "banal" mill, which does not mean at all that it was ordinary, but that all the inhabitants of the territory, called "suburbs", were obliged to go and grind their grain there, in exchange for a few small currencies, of course!
From damage to repairs, he continued his small mill life until about 1920, when a baker came to settle on the island, and began importing his flour. The inhabitants appreciated this white bread, and, from tide to tide, the poor Mill lost all profitability, and finally stopped. The hard laws of competition, already!
But, in 1990, the commune bought the site, with the dike and the pond! Today, an association watches over him and his maintenance.
Birlot Mill Association
The Port-Clos
22870 Ile de Bréhat
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