Chaponost

The gate of the enclosure and a portion of the ditches is only testimonys remaining of the medieval castle of Chaponost. Its current site is occupied by the places Maréchal Foch and of May 8, 1945. The castle was obviously made up an enclosure strengthened of less than 40 meters on side sheltering a church, seigneuriaux buildings and some houses. It was surrounded by a water ditch, supplied with a source of Merdanson. A drawbridge crossed these ditches in the North-East, giving access to the principal door of the castle.

The restored medieval door is the only vestige of the castle still of rise. It would be characteristic of the period going from the XIV to the XVI century. It is composed by a convex moulding of the oven walls which penetrates the concave moulding of the gothic arch.The thickness of the wall is of 1,30 Mr.

This building, built in 1881, represents testimony of a formerly important activity on the commune: the laundry. This disappeared activity, the laundrette underwent some architectural transformations (ensablage basin, entirely closed space…) and was useful fo the warehouse during years at the municipal engineering services. This is within the framework of the reorganization of the center borough and in particular of d' creation; a way connecting the street Martel to the Boulevard of the Flowers which the common one wished to give again its original aspect with the public laundrette.

The great dispersion of the ground on the commune of Chaponost, divided into cereal cultures, vines, meadows and wood, had caused an important parcelling out of the properties. After the Revolution, the number of the small holders strongly increased. To facilitate their task in pieces often distant from their dwelling, much then small rudimentary buildings built. The latter allowed them to shelter in case of the bad weather, to take their meal with the shelter of the sun or the rain and to store their tools. The huts are still very numerous on the commune (58 listed). Of plan rectangular and covered with two sides of roof, they are some stone time, often out of cob, rough coat or not rough-cast. Most recent are out of blast-furnace slag or cement hardcores. Fifty pourcent between them that have a door for opening. Some have sometimes a small window on one on the sides.