Wash-houses and fountains in Saint-Quay-Portrieux

Le lavoir de la Bourgade

In Saint-Quay-Portrieux, sewerage, running water and electricity were only gradually installed from the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century. Washhouses and fountains, all located along the small streams that fed the groundwater and wells, were therefore essential to the life of the population.

The fountains were renowned for the quality and purity of their water. Water was drawn from the fountains and transported to people’s homes in barrels, buckets or jugs. This practice was still in use in the 1960s.

The many washhouses were frequented by the “laveuses” (women who made a profession of it) of Saint-Quay-Portrieux, who worked for families, hotels and on their own account. Some of the washhouses were very rudimentary, simply a line of stones around a pond or along a stream, while others were more elaborate, like this one.

At La Barrique, there used to be a roof with a central zenithal opening, like the atrium of a Gallo-Roman villa, which allowed rainwater to flow into the basin while protecting the washerwomen from the rain. Below the washhouse, on the banks of the stream, a rudimentary hut served as a toilet.

Chapelle Sainte-Anne Saint-Quay-Portrieux

Between the rinsing basin and the washhouse itself, the beautiful draining stone was put back in place in 2022.

The washhouse is fed by a spring, the resurgence of a large underground water table that used to supply 10 to 15 wells in the surrounding area. It flows through a “ru” towards the Port-es-leu. This was culverted in the 1960s to make way for the construction of the road leading down to it and the building of villas.

The lavoir de la Barrique takes its name from a nearby café, now defunct, where washerwomen sometimes took a short break to warm up with a cup of coffee by the stove.

In 2023, five washhouses can still be seen in Saint-Quay-Portrieux and are maintained by the Amicale des Moulin, Fontaines, Lavoirs.

What is a wash-house?

Laundries – or “doués” in local dialect – generally consisted of two basins, paved or cobbled around the edges for greater convenience, one downstream for washing and the other upstream or “rinçoir” for rinsing. Washing required only a few buckets of water and could be done partly at home, whereas rinsing required large quantities of clean water. The washerwomen therefore went to the washhouse mainly to rinse the clothes (see the section on “the big wash”).

Originally simple planks on the banks of a stream, washhouses were built from the end of the 18th century onwards. They were built for reasons of hygiene, to combat epidemics and to prevent washerwomen from washing clothes in their homes, thereby reducing the flow of water and the release of steam that dampened the walls. In 1851, Parliament passed a law granting a special subsidy of up to 30% for the construction of covered washhouses. It was at this time that a large number of washhouses were built in all the communes.

Still in use until the middle of the 20th century, the washhouses were frequented mainly by women. Then their use was lost with the advent of running water, washing machines, industrial and automatic laundries and finally domestic washing machines…