the lavoirs
Lassay-les-Châteaux might well be renamed 'Lassay-les-Lavoirs'!
There are literally hundreds of them in the town, mostly alongside the rivulet "Lassay" which flows through the town centre.
These were private wash houses at the bottom of the garden allowing women to do a weekly wash at the riverside.
There are also many public wash houses; one, close to my home, is STILL used today by a couple of our neighbours.
Although they have washing machines, they prefer to do large items like bedding down at the lavoir.
In bygone times, a woman's husband would construct for her "un carosse" - a wooden box which served as a means of carrying the 
washing, and a kneeler when she was working at the lavoir
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© Paul Climance 2020