FOUR À CHANVRE DE LUCÉ-SOUS-BALLON

Double hemp oven, unique in Sarthe!

Hemp has been grown in the Sarthe for a long time, but it was only in the 18th century that the plant began to flourish as a raw material for making cloth. The decline in this activity began in 1950. Many hemp kilns can still be seen in the département.
Once harvested, the hemp was macerated in water to help separate the bark from the fibre, known as retting. From the 19th century onwards, the next stage was drying, carried out in ever-larger ovens to meet growing demand. Close to the kilns, the "lodge" housed the "brayeuses", small machines that completely removed the woody elements to obtain the filasse.
The Lucé-sous-Ballon kiln consists of two parts, one for heating and the other for drying, connected by a slatted floor that lets the heat through.