To see from the outside
The mill, a truncated brick tower, is located in Saint-Vaast-en-Cambrésis on the plateau. It is a tordoir, which produced oil.
It was built in 1857. The blue stone millstones were used to extract oil from poppy seeds and flax. It was restored in 1990 and the sails were reattached in 1993. The only tower-type oil mill in France, it is very well located and works well, but it has not been maintained since its restoration by ARAM and there are now problems with the masonry.
A vestige of a bygone rural activity, this mill is an important part of the region's heritage, bearing witness to an ancestral way of life and the ecclesiastical influence over the area (fees payable to the monks).
It has a strong symbolic role in this region, where the richness of the soil has for centuries fostered economic activity and trade.
The aim must be to maintain this built heritage, while respecting the environment and economizing on resources, by seeking to enhance its value and develop its uses (tourism and culture, biodiversity and the environment).
CAUE du Nord
According to the city's mayor, its restoration is scheduled for 2025.