Foncoubert Fountain and other wash houses

Park at the bottom of the hamlet of Mairé.

(S/E) Take a farm track heading east-north-east. It follows the Béronne valley before climbing up towards the plateau.

(1) At the crossroads, take a path on the right leading downhill. The walk then follows the^GR®655and one of the routes to Santiago de Compostela. Carry on straight ahead to the Moulin de Génebrie, which you’ll reach after crossing the Béronne via a small stone bridge. When you reach the road, turn left to walk past the mill.

(2) Immediately afterwards, turn right onto an uphill path. Follow it straight on until you reach the plateau. At the junction, continue straight on along the path that veers slightly to the right.

(3) At the next junction, turn right (west) onto the tree-lined path that passes under a high-voltage power line. Continue straight on until you reach the D740 road. Cross it with great care and take the slightly downhill path opposite.

(4) At the first junction, turn right onto the almost flat path heading north-west. Shortly afterwards, ignore a path on the right which joins the D740 road some distance further on, and turn onto the path on the left which joins the Vernoux road.

(5) Turn right towards the Y-junction with the Route de Périgné, where the war memorial is situated. Continue towards the village centre and take the street on the left. As you cross the Boutonne, you’ll see the water ram and the flour mill (see the section ‘During the walk or nearby’).

Continue along this circular route around the village centre until you reach Route de la Boutonne. Turn right and walk upstream along the Boutonne to Rue des Roctons.

(6) Turn left onto this street, which, once past the last houses, becomes a farm track. Carry on straight ahead. The track passes close to the sewage treatment plant on the left. You’ll reach the River Béronne and the beautiful Foncoubert (Foucombert) fountain and washhouse.

(7) Continue along the same track and head uphill to join the D740 road. Walk along the road with caution, using the wide grass verge on the left-hand side (heading towards Vilaine).

(8) Immediately after the Moulin de Vilaine, cross the D740 road with great care to take the grassy path that crosses the restored Roman bridge (see the ‘During the walk or nearby’ section).
After the bridge, the path is circular and passes through some gardens before returning to the D740. Turn right and walk alongside it for 20 metres (take care).

(10) Turn right onto the uphill Rue de Riplet. The street leads to the top of the neighbourhood. Then turn right onto the Chemin des Fermedières. The route passes a house where Joseph Pineau, president of the Deux-Sèvres Departmental Liberation Committee, once lived.

Immediately afterwards, turn right onto Rue du Château, which descends towards the Château de la Grézolle. At the first right-hand bend, take the small, steeply descending path opposite (on the left-hand side) which runs alongside the château grounds, turns to the right and follows the River Béronne. It then passes below the Château de la Grézolle (offering a fine view of this private estate) and emerges onto the road near the bridge spanning the River Béronne. Opposite is the Grézolle washhouse on the banks of the River Béronne.

(10) Turn left, cross the Béronne via the bridge and continue along the road until you reach the first path on the left, which you take to continue the walk. Shortly afterwards, turn left onto the tree-lined path on your right-hand side, heading north. It soon runs alongside a high-voltage power line, before turning sharply right to cross the Béronne via the Pont Robert.

A little further on, leave Rue de la Béronne behind and continue along Rue du Pont Robert. When you reach Impasse du Moulin, turn left and then immediately right into Rue des Feux Fanets. At the end of Rue des Feux Fanets, the route returns to the car park (S/E).

The car park is situated at the bottom of the hamlet of Mairé (near Périgné) at the junction of the road and a track opposite Rue des Faux Fanets.

There is another option at Vernoux-sur-Boutonne near the Town Hall (at the junction of the D104 and the track leading into the village (5). In this case, simply adapt the route description to start the walk from this location.

Although this walk follows good paths, you will still need to wear suitable footwear.

This walk is loosely based on the cycle route published by the Syndicat mixte du Pays Mellois under the name “La balade des trois rivières”. Consequently, most of the route follows the yellow signposting but deviates from it here and there. It is advisable to follow the route on the map or using the description.
This route follows the “Rando en Deux-Sèvres”-certified route entitled “La fontaine de Foucambert”, available on the Deux-Sèvres Department’s hiking website: http://randoendeuxsevres.fr/index.php

Walk completed by the author of this guide on 8 January 2018.

Foncoubert (Foucombert) fountain and washhouse

In the municipality of Périgné, 500 metres from the village of Vilaine, there is a wash house fed by a spring. On the other side of the path, a small spring feeds a stream; a pumping station has been installed at another spring near the washhouse. The washhouse has wooden and stone pillars, a central wooden beam, two doors and large stone slabs on the floor. Its roof is covered with tiles. A few years ago, this washhouse was renovated.

In his book *Mythologie des Deux-Sèvres*, Guy Pillard recounts the history of the “Fontaines de Foncoubert”, once considered miraculous:
“Pilgrims would visit them particularly during the week leading up to Corpus Christi, for on that day the water from these fountains would turn to milk… and their supernatural powers were thereby enhanced. Until 1789, the parish priest of Périgné would come here on Corpus Christi to lead a procession. People drank this water, which was reputed to cure migraines and stomach aches. It was, moreover, beneficial to animals as well as to humans.
Shepherds, for example, who wanted their ewes to be fertile, would lead them to drink from these fountains for a certain number of days; and if they wanted a black lamb, they had to immerse the ewes in the water.

Many superstitions surrounded these fountains at Foncoubert. Tradition has it that at night, by moonlight, travellers who lingered too long would once encounter groups of washerwomen dressed in white, beating funeral linen. Such an encounter was considered an omen of misfortune.”

Vernoux-sur-Boutonne

Hydraulic ram
Installed around 1890 on the River Boutonne, the hydraulic ram cannot fail to arouse your curiosity when in operation, due to its loud thumping sounds. Now very rare, this pressure-driven pumping system was invented by
Joseph Montgolfier in 1796. The one in Vernoux was installed in 1890 opposite the mill. This ingenious system uses only the driving force of water. As the water enters reservoirs filled with air, the pressure rises and the water is eventually forced through a penstock by the action of valves. It is these valves that you can hear. The force generated carries the water to another reservoir 55 metres away and situated at a height of 8.70 metres.

Vilaine (near Périgné)

A Roman bridge on the main road from Niort to Ruffec. The restored bridge spans the River Béronne. Consisting of
two arches and abutments, it follows in the tradition of medieval bridges such as those still found in
Gâtine (Gourgé) or in the Thouarsais region (Saint-Généroux). This bridge was restored as part of a work integration scheme for the long-term unemployed. The collapse of one arch had threatened to flood the homes downstream.

The Grézolle washhouse

The La Grézolle washhouse is situated opposite the Château de la Grézolle and at the bottom of the hamlet. It is also near the bridge over the River Belle. It has six wooden posts and two low stone walls. It has no door and the roof is tiled.

The Vivier-Mairé washhouse

This washhouse is situated on the River Béronne, beside the road between Mairé and Riplet. To reach it, you must take a small path to the left of the road. The washhouse has four stone pillars and two walls. The roof structure is supported by large wooden beams and the roof is covered with tiles. An opening in the wall serves as a door.

Périgné

Protohistoric and Gallo-Roman settlement.
A village on the dividing line between the Catholic region in the south-west and the Protestant region in the north-east; the church was burnt down during the Wars of Religion.
A dolmen destroyed at ‘Pierre-Levée’.
Remains of a Gallo-Roman temple at Mairé; excavations at Mazerolles: Roman villa, thermal baths, theatre.
Gallo-Roman and Merovingian cemetery at La Boucharderie.
Remains of the Château de la Guittonnière (15th/16th centuries).
Foucombert Fountain.
Saint-Martin’s Church (10th century), rebuilt in the 17th century; Romanesque nave and bell tower, capitals on the north portal.