The Laurede Watermill Access (Please look at the guide maps on the last page.) Leaving Foix on the RD 17 road, follow the direction of the Col des Marrous - Tour Laffont, as far as the village of St Pierre de Riviere where there are two choices: 1. Stay on the RD 17 road as far as the village of Burret. Once there, turn left to the hamlet of Mathieu. Leave the car in the car park and take the footpath marked “Chemin du Meunier”, the miller's footpath (which takes about 30 to 40 minutes in total). Postcards are sold at the mill and at the home of Mr and Mrs Torres, whose house is situated in Mathieu and is the only house to be found on the righthand side of the road. 2. Turn left on the RD 11 road as far as the village of Brassac. Once there, follow the signpost to the “Col de Legrillou”, where there is a car park and a pretty panoramic view. Take the footpath as far as Bourgail (30 minutes) and then the path to the mill (15 minutes). The return journey, climbing back up, takes a little longer. For access by bus, please either ask local companies or contact the Society. Description and History It is a classical little mountain watermill. Its interior size is no more than 4 to 5 metres. It consists of a pair of horizontal millstones, 140 cm in diameter, the upper millstone driven by a vertical millstone spindle and a horizontal waterwheel. The waterwheel house is in a vaulted chamber. Water comes from the Bailles stream via a dam and via a head race which is 16 m long. The mill was built, in the time-honoured style following old traditions, in the first quarter of the 19th Century, by the inhabitants of the hamlets of La Laurede, Mathieu, Bourgail, Legrillou, and Les Monges. The first two hamlets belong to the commune of Burret and the other three to that of Brassac. There was no appointed miller but the inhabitants of the aforementioned hamlets, together with some inhabitants of the hamlet of Planol, had the free rights to use the mill and they looked after it and kept it in good working order. It was in service to mill local cereal (wheat, buckwheat, rye...) and continued working until about 1960. Renovation Rediscovered at the end of 1997, this mill was the only one in this area which had withstood time but the roof was in a poor state. A Society was created in 1998 for its restoration which has been due to, firstly, the volunteers of the Society, with timely help from the Scouts, with a workforce of young people and the Caminarem (31) Society, and with the grateful support of various donations (Chaudronnerie Mecanique Ariegeoise, Credit Mutuel, Fortech, Photo Service Ariege ...), and with the support of the Conseil General, the Conseil Regional, and the communes of Burret, Brassac, Le Bosc, Benac, Serres, Le Vissee... In 2001, joint finance was granted and obtained from the Conseil General, the Conseil Regional, and DRAC, for the commune of Burret and the Laurede Society to step in and help the volunteers and the specialist craftsmen. The flour milling inauguration took place on 26 October 2003. In recognition of its efforts to highlight rural heritage values, the Society has received two local regional prizes, one from the Credit Mutuel (bank) in 2001, and the other from the Banque Populaire (bank) in 2004. Visits The mill is open for visits with talks (entry fee 2 Euros with reductions for young people and for groups...) in the afternoons, Wednesday to Sunday, during July and August, and by arrangement during the rest of the year. Enquiries can be made with the Society or at the Mairie or preferably with Colette or Jean-Paul Denier: 05 61 73 13 85, Danièle or Jean Pierre Villeneuve: 05 61 65 21 53, Michèle or Jean Despierre: 05 61 65 56 65, Viviane Jenesse: 05 61 65 45 77, Christiane or Manuel Torrès: 05 61 01 93 37, or with Robert Pujol: 05 61 02 81 95.

Walking to Music and Songs of the Mill During the national public holiday celebrating mills, on the third Sunday in June, the Society organises Walking to Music and Songs of the Mill with two events, one short and one long. These events are varied each year but are always accompanied by entertainment, with music and songs, and take place at various locations and at the mill where flour is made. To find out more about venues, times, and events, please ask the Society, or at the Mairie (the mayor's office), or as indicated at the bottom of the previous page. Project of Themed Walks Around the Three Mills The Walk of the Three Mills is a tour on foot to discover Please note: the Laurede Watermill, along with two other privately The Walk of the Three Mills is owned mills, in ruins, which are situated in pretty not yet possible as the woodland surroundings; one being the Marchandis next footpaths are not yet open. to the Arget river and the other being the Philip next to The only footpaths which are the Bailles stream. This walk allows one to discover the open go to the Laurede mills and to remember that for a long time the people, in Watermill from Mathieu and this well-populated area, lived off the land using locally from the Col de Legrillou. grown food and resources. The memory of those people (Please see the guide maps continues to live on in the tracks and footpaths, and in on the last page.) the old walls and buildings. Access It is planned to have three points of access onto the pathway of the Three Mills: • from the RD I7 road at Naudou, above the Marchandis mill, eventually creating a car park with 8 spaces and a picnic area with 3 tables. • from Mathieu, creating a car park with 14 spaces at the entrance to the hamlet. • from Brassac, via the Col de Legrillou, via the hamlet of Bourgail. Two other access points are also possible from Bregne and from the Pont de Bailles (the bridge over the Bailles stream). Please see below for further details. Connections Two footpaths to link up with the Walk of the Three Mills, walking along the path from Mathieu: • at the Moulin de Bregne (mill) situated in the commune of Le Bosc, to safeguard this mill in the future because of its surroundings and its water sources which are remarkable. • At the Pont de Bailles (bridge) on the RD 11 road, giving access to tourists from Deveze. Future Plans to Realise the Project An application to finance 18 months of work was made in September 2003 by the three villages of Burret, Brassac, and Le Bosc. This work was started in April 2006. For more information about activities, events, and projects, and to support and encourage our volunteers, we ask you to consider becoming a Friend of the Society. There is an annual subscription of 16 € and any additional donations are always welcomed. Surname :

First Names:

Full Address : E-Mail Address :

Telephone Number:

Please return the form to : Association du Moulin de La Laurede, Mairie 09000 BURRET France Please tick the relevant box οYes οNo to indicate your acceptance for your details to be kept on our computer database.

The Laurede Watermill

Two possible footpaths from Burret or Brassac Toulouse, Pamiers, RN20

The Laurede Watermill is situated in the commune of Burret, the commune being its owner, and is on the boundary of the commune of Brassac. Only accessible on foot, it has a really rich history not only from a technical point of view but also from a social history standpoint. The mill has been restored to working order thanks to a project led by the commune of Burret with the initiative and firm support of volunteers of the Laurede Watermill Society.

To St Girons, Tarbes, RD117 To Col des Marrous

Tunnel

Burret Mathieu-Parking Serres/Arget

RD17 St Pierre Foix

Bourgail

Légrillou-Parking

Moulin

RD11 Brassac

Tarascon, Ax les Thermes, RN20

To go to the Laurede Watermill from Burret  Mathieu, Parking

Le Roc, cul de sac

Laurede Watermill

Only accessible on foot, the watermill is open to visitors in the afternoons, Wednesday to Sunday, in July and August, and by prior arrangement at other times during the year. Access is via Mathieu in the commune of Burret, or via the Col de Legrillou in the commune of Brassac. (Guide maps are shown on the last page.)

During the public holiday celebrating mills, in June, the

To Col des Marrous

Information board

Society organises different events each year – one long and one short – Walking to Music and Songs of the Mill

  

Bridge over the Arget Pouilhou, river

cul de sac

Association du Moulin de la Laurède, Mairie, 09000 BURRET RD17 from Foix

Mayor’s office

with musical entertainment

+ gîte

and with flour-making.

Church

Details of the Society's name and address, with the website address, are as follows: Association du Moulin de la Laurede, Mairie, 09000 Burret [email protected] http://moulin.laurede.free.fr/ Those responsible within the Society are as follows: Honourable Presidents: M. Pouech, R. Sajous, President: J-P Denier, Vice-Presidents: C Boy, G Martinez, Secretaries: J. Despierre, R Maris, Treasurers: C. Denier, D. Villeneuve, Administrators: J-P Belrepayre, V. Jenesse, R. Pujol, J-P Villeneuve. 2006