contact:
Molineuf
Town Hall
41190 Molineuf
France
Phone: (33)
2.54.70.05.23

site produced by Molineuf Town council

Version française

Molineuf lies on the banks of a narrow river named the Cisse. This river winds its way through fields of wheat in the Beauce region until it reaches the wineries that cover the hillsides overlooking the Loire, the gateway to the Touraine region.
Before joining the Loire, France's longest river, the Cisse flows gently through the forest of Marchenoir at Pontijour. It makes a detour towards Orchaise, then meanders from Orchaise to Chouzy through Molineuf, then on to Vouvray where it finally joins the Loire.

We know that the valley of the Cisse has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Very early in history, watermills dotted its course. The name of the village today owes itself to what was formerly a flourishing profession. In 1121 Geoffrey Bourreau, Lord of Bury encouraged monks to establish a priory by donating 'a piece of land lying between the Cisse and the forest, and a new water mill' A new water mill, translates as 'Moulin neuf' in French, which over time became Molineuf, although the village only officially adopted the name Molineuf in 1912. Administratively speaking the village became a district after the French Revolution in 1789. Prior to that time it was a parish with Molineuf just one of the hamlets of Saint Secondin les Vignes - St Secondin the Vineyards.

Let us take up the thread of history once more and return to Moulin Neuf. Moulin Neuf was administered by the Tiron priory while Saint Secondin belonged to Marmoutier, the two were separated by the Cisse. At that time, monks tended the vine, nothing new in the Valley of the Cisse, except they applied hitherto unheard of methods and determination. The hillsides remained covered in vineyards until the middle of the twentieth century. In the 12th and 13th centuries, all the priories flourished. Then the Hundred Years war took hold. In the 14th century, hordes of soldiers from Gascony, backed by the English, ransacked the Touraine region.
In 1360 Edward III of England (1327-77) came to find refreshment for his troops in the countryside in the Beauce and around Chartres. From then on, the English were home from home in the castle of Bury.
Nevertheless despite the Hundred Years war, the occupying forces left the region in relative peace. In a war lasting for a hundred years, it was not surprising that there was some respite. At the beginning of the 15th century the Valley of the Cisse was once again disrupted by marauding soldiers.
Finally, when the war comes to an end, Charles V of France ordered the destruction of all feudal fortresses thought to have harboured the English. Therefore it is probable that Bury castle was destroyed by the French.

The vineyard survived none the less, despite this period of murder, famine and disease,. The land was divided up into woods and vineyards for wine. Men worked the vineyards during the fine months and then earned their living as wood cutters in the winter. Cereal crops were only grown for domestic consumption.

However, these water mills dotted along the river were not built to remain idle. They ground corn from the Petite Beauce, a region upstream from Molineuf.

Time plodded on and when the sixteen century began, it heralded a bountiful period for the Loire Valley. The village found itself at the very heart of the intellectual and artistic movement known as the French Renaissance.

We owe all of this to Florimond Robertet, a man of taste who was both minister and treasurer to François I, king of France. He bought Bury, a 'ruyne' for 400 gold ecus. By about 1515 in roughly ten years, he had built the first Renaissance castle in France. After extensive legal wrangling with Charles de Ronsard - brother of Pierre, the famous poet-, his son Claude managed to buy back the chapel. The estate was was once again as large as it was in 1121. (This priory was situated at the very limits of the hamlet of Molineuf. Two buildings, today houses, are the remnants of the priory and are still to be seen today on either side of the road leading to Chambon).

At the beginning of the 17th century the last Robertet died, wracked by debt. After a decade or more, the castle was finally abandoned, leaving it to be pillaged for Onzain castle or other manors nearby.

At the same time life and prosperity in the area were profoundly disrupted. In the first instance, religious wars were to blame, and then the king and his court, preferring Paris, abandoned the Loire Valley for good. With the arrival of the Fronde, gangs of looters rampaged across the countryside. It was only with the return of law and order that the vineyards could be peacefully tended once again.

It would be many years before the winegrowers found prosperity. Nevertheless through hard work, some became vineyard owners and found real economic emancipation.

The bourgeoisie in Blois, attracted by the neighbouring forest, acquired land. Most were Protestants working for the civil service or skilled craftsmen or tradesmen (including watchmakers and enamellers renown throughout Europe). On the edge of the forest beside the vineyards, they built 'closeries' - houses with a high walled courtyards. They gave them picturesque names such as La Bailleterie, le Bilieux, Culs-froid, l'Enfer, la Grossardière, Pique-Mouche, la Simmonière, la Touche, etc. that can be still found today.

By the time of the French Revolution occurred, there was no longer a lord at St Secondin les Vignes. The church too had lost its former glory, only the vineyards prospered. In 1775 there were over fifty vineyard owners.
Then St Secondin les Vignes saw the arrival of a certain Abbé Pollier, who was not only a distinguished and skilled doctor, but also a leading thinker at the time.
With no lord to remove and no castle to burn, the French Revolution passed off peacefully. The vineyards went on being cared for by winegrowing techniques passed on from father to son. The good quality red, white and rosé wines were appreciated in Blois and Paris.
In the 19th century, in Molineuf just as everywhere in France, the vineyards were devastated by disease. Years passed before table wines of any quality were produced again.
The 19th century also heralded a revolution in methods of transportation. Fewer and fewer villagers went to Blois on foot, rather horses and carriages became a common sight. A stagecoach operated a regular service from Blois to Herbault via Molineuf making the journey several times a day.
This was all possible due to a road built from Blois to Angers which passed through Chateau Renault. St Secondin's parish council lobbied hard for the Blois -Herbault stretch of the road to pass through Molineuf. They succeeded and it was Molineuf, rather than its longtime rival, Bury that was chosen for the road. It wasn't until 1912 that the council finally decided to replace the name of St Secondin les Vignes by Molineuf.

As the twentieth century dawned, a steam powered tramway supplanted the stagecoach. Molineuf became a main station with up to six convoys a day. It wasn't long before the bus replaced the tramway, which in turn lost out to the car.

Education was another important element of social change. Following the ideas of the Convention during the French Empire period, an 1833 royal decree set out requirements for children's education. St Secondin was already well in advance since an 'authorised' teacher had been dispensing lessons to pupils of both sexes for more than eleven years. Finding a place to build a school was a different matter, however. Many projects were examined, one included the purchase of the presbytery adjacent to St Secondin, before finally it was decided to buy land and build a school. This was done between 1863 and 1865. The school is still in existence today.

Wars took a heavy toll on the village.
Firstly the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 saw the arrival of troops followed by occupying enemy forces with finally pillaging Prussian soldiers from October 1870 until the Armistice in February 1871.

The 1914-18 Great War spared the inhabitants from an occupying force but all the men old enough to carry arms were drafted. The women and men too old to fight had to carry on where conscripts had left off. Just as elsewhere, the aftermath of war left many dead. Twenty-five names in all were engraved on the war memorial - an enormous loss for a village of less than five hundred at the time.

The Second World War added another seven names to the war memorial. Villagers were also taken prisoner and deported to work in Germany for five years.
The German occupation passed off reasonably well for most inhabitants. Rationing was less rude in the countryside than in the city. City dwellers arrived in the search for food. In 1944 air raids in the cities made Molineuf's population swell once more. Increased activity by the French Resistance set off house searches and reprisals by the Germans towards the end of the war. In August 1944 American Forces liberated Blois, arriving in Molineuf by the Forest of Blois.

The Industrial Revolution was the real turning point in history for villages such as Molineuf. Prosperity waned as wines from the south of France were too much competition. Modernization changed the way people behaved. Gradually the vineyards disappeared from the surrounding hillsides. The Closeries became year- round residences or holiday homes for people from beyond Blois. The descendents of vineyard workers work in town now and plots in the vineyards have been sold off to build modern houses.

Apart from a handful of vines still cultivated with enthusiasm, the bulk of the vineyards have long disappeared. With the result that visitors nowadays are surprised to learn why the little church in Molineuf called St Secondin, used to be called Saint Secondin les Vignes. The charm and tranquillity of this pretty little village still manage to cast their spell nonetheless. If watermills no longer grind corn, look carefully for the Cisse still flows through Molineuf. Some things never change.