Once the restoration has been carried out, the site could host a biennial around the arts of pottery.

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Gradignan town hall

  • The Pottery site, in Gradignan, was selected among the 18 emblematic sites supported by the heritage lottery for 2021.

  • Only a few other examples of bottle ovens exist in France.

  • The city sees it as an important support to finance the rehabilitation of the site, which will begin in the fall.

There are very few examples of bottle ovens in France, only five to six, witnesses of an industrial history linked to pottery.

Two of them are on the Poterie site in Gradignan, near Bordeaux, but time has left them in a sorry state.

Built between 1841 and 1855, they were used to bake tiles and bricks for buildings, then various ceramic tableware.

They should regain their splendor since they were selected among 18 sites in total to benefit from the financial support of the 2021 edition of the Loto du patrimoine.

Only a few ovens of this type still exist in France.

- Gradignan town hall

A great satisfaction for the mayor of Gradignan, Michel Labardin, who had the site classified in 2012 in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments by the regional directorate of cultural affairs (DRAC).

For an estimated amount of work of 1.8 million euros including tax, the city, which has already launched investments for a project that will start in the fall, is pleased with the support provided by the Heritage Mission.

The amount is not yet known because it is based in particular on calls for tax-free donations but the town hall "will adjust its financing plan according to the announcement in September", specifies Michel Labardin.

The association terre d'art et d'argile offers courses on the Gradignan site.

- Gradignan town hall

A delicate dismantling operation

"The state of peril but also the interest and the originality of the ovens which constitute very beautiful testimonies of industrial history motivated the choice of this site", points out Lucas Briaudeau Lucas, project manager at the Heritage Foundation .

The ovens were in full swing in the middle of the 19th century before their activity gradually declined to stop in the 1950s.

We know that originally there were three ovens on the site, but only two are still standing.

“Part of the building collapsed, so there is still an oven outside and one inside.

The one outside is the most damaged and presents a risk of ruin, ”explains the mayor of Gradignan.

The operation will require special engineering since it will be necessary to carefully remove all the bricks and reinstall them identically.

For ten years, the association “terre d'art et d'argile” has been welcoming the public to the site, around workshops related to pottery.

"She suggested that we organize a ceramic biennial there to enhance the site and bring it back to life, which could begin in 2023," announces Michel Labardin.

The arts of pottery and fire will be in the spotlight with international artists.

Our heritage file

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“It would be a dream to be able to bring a bottle oven up to temperature and to try, when it is well consolidated, an old-fashioned cooking experience, imagines the chosen one.

It would be the symbol of renewal ”.

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