Neufchâteau   ▪

History and architecture
The course of the river
Grandvoir, the castle and ironworks
Hamipré, the church and the convent
The village of Lahérie
Longlier
The village of Massul
The Nolinfaing wash house
Le Sart
Engraved and scuplted shale: funerary monuments
Warmifontaine and the slate quarry

The Nolinfaing wash house.

The Nolinfaing wash house is of interest primarily in terms of the wash house itself, the drinking trough close by and the protected spring which supplies them all.

Use
Until around 1970 (the water supply wasn't installed until after 1960), washerwomen still used the wash house: they set aside one day a week for washing and arrived early in the morning to make use of the clean water. First, they would wash the laundry at home and then bring it to the wash house in large wicker baskets. There, kneeling on a knee rest, they would rinse the laundry, after beating it with a wooden beater. In Winter, the laundry would sometimes freeze in the wash tubs. At the beginning of the century, use of the wash house was different: washing took place twice a year. It took several days. The laundry was pre-washed in boiling water with potash after having been dipped in a pile of ashes. The saponin (plant able to make the water lather) served as soap. The laundry was then rinsed and beaten.