This bench of the week is in Bracieux, France. It's very old. It's part of the "lavoir"or public washing place of the town of Bracieux.It has an interesting history and it's therefore so important to preserve this place.
On 28 May 1861 the town council took into consideration to build public washing places for the sake of hygienics and health of the mothers and women professionally involved in doing the laundry .On 12 November1861 the mayor proposed to have a shelter built for the women, who were until then exposed to cold and bad weather.
The washing place was used until 1950 by only two women. The washing women were replaced by washingmachines and laundries.
here you can see how the women washed the laundry
RuneE of Visual Norway
began this informal meme on "Bench of the Week". Please visit his site for other participants. PERBS has a whole site dedicated to benches called "For the Love of Benches", which is going on for two years and every day she posts a new bench.
27 comments:
Lovely pictures, Reader Wil. And thank heavens for the automatic washer!
I agree with Vicki Lane !
perso.numericable.fr/amisdutot/pages/meredenis.html
Avez-vous entendu parler de "la mère Denis"?
www.culturepub.fr/videos/vedette-la-mere-denis.html
simply wonderful.And as always...u are very nice.
congrats and have a nice weekend\
graceolsson.se/mittliv
Wow! What a great find! Wonderful photo!
It looks wonderful, a nice place to sit and look around.
Een prachtige mooie plaats om even te relaxen :))))
fijne avond
:-)
You asked if my bench was made of glass...no...a light colored metal is all...thank you for stopping by!
Interesting post reader wil - I have seen some of these lavoir in various parts of France - I am sure they were very important for hygiene a century ago. It is lovely that some of them are being preserved too.
Ik maak dat met mijn fototoestel die kan ik op filmen zetten.
En bij blogger zet ik het in video toevoegen.
Het is heel simpel ik had het ook pas van mijn dochter gehoord hihi
En de stem klinkt heeeeel anders door de computer.
Zo'n zware stem ;(
Maar die blogvrienden vinden de naam Karel zo raar hahaha....
Ik ken geen andere manier van video's erop zetten.
:)
How very interesting! I love unusual benches and this one comes with a history! I am surprised that my friend in France, who also has a bench blog, has not photographed these before -- of course, she is maybe from a different part of France. This is her addy if you care to check it out. . . Malyss
I can imagine the conversations the washing women had while doing the laundry. Very nice photos, Wil, and a bench that has many stories to tell.
How interesting, I am very glad for my automatic washing machine and dryer. I enjoyed the little video, poor woman, pounding away on the clothes.
I love the first pic - the shadows - very painterly looking. Am glad I have a good washer and dryer!
This bench is beautiful !Thanks for this beautiful and interesting post!
Léia :)
Great history! I love learning new facts and this is a good post with wonderful photos.
Thanks for this interesting post, Wil
Aloha, Friend!
Comfort Spiral
I sure do love these!
Er zal daar tijdens het wassen wel wat afgeroddeld zijn geweest, maar is er wel mooi.
Weet niet of ik tijdens het weekend op blogronde kan gaan (fototentoonstelling) daarom wens ik je nu al een fijn weekend
I like such benches with a history and a context. In this case very much so, since it is a tribute to the unsung heroes of many generations - the women doing the "dirty" work.
I am glad the women no longer have to wash the clothes like that and without soap.
Cool bench, Wil. I love traveling vicariously thru you.
What a beautiful pictures with these shadows and some interesting information.
Thanks you for showing another use for a bench. The video was informative, too, and also made me chuckle!
Thanks for the visit!
Your photos are just beautiful. I'm so glad we've got washing machines now. Looks like you needed some muscle to do your wash the old way.
I had to go and check where Bracieux was... I am wondering if it was more populated at the time they used this lavoir which seems pretty big?
Nice.
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