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Guided tour of the Tannery
What is leather?
The last artisanal tannery in the Vienne, still in operation until 2015, remains open to the public for a surprising visit!
How long has it existed? Why in Lavausseau? How is it made? So many questions that our guides will answer!
The tannery, although it has stopped, still has all its machines, some of which are very old and have over 100 years used by tanners until 2015.
Before your eyes, some of them will continue to operate. You will walk in the footsteps of all the tanners who have trodden the soil of Lavausseau since the 1100s.
Thus, at the end of the visit, leather will no longer hold any secrets for you... Or almost...
The old tanning pits
Before or after the visit, take the time to see the old tanning pits updated by the association's volunteers between 2017 and 2019.
On the former site of the vegetable tanneries, two round pits for deliming, 2 other round pits and 4 very large tanning pits were created by volunteers who cleaned and weeded the area along the canal and behind the current tannery.
The story begins in 2017, following a plan found in the archives, showing several pits. As the area was completely overgrown, the volunteers started a long work of weeding and cleaning.
In 2019, several pits have already been fully uncovered, but several others are still to be found, and digging is still required... However, the DRAC has requested that the work be stopped to avoid damaging this heritage.
Today, it is still impossible to go any further without the intervention of an archaeologist, but the work done so far has been enhanced by the Boivre la Vallée Town Council, which continues to maintain the area and make it safe for visitors to see this heritage linked to the history of the tannery.
