Small-scale heritage, also known as vernacular heritage, remains essential to the villages of the Lozère Lot Valley. Bread ovens, crosses, ferradous… all served a purpose in the past: to indicate crossroads, to bake bread, to shoe oxen and horses. Today, this small heritage is more or less well preserved and maintained, but it is important to preserve it as much as possible to bear witness to the past of these villages, most of which are very old… Some heritage features, such as bread ovens, are still in use today: bread festivals, village festivals, old-fashioned baking…
CrossStone cross.
Discover
The small heritage of the Lot Valley
Witness to ancestral lifestyles.The origins of small heritage in the Lot Valley
Ferradou - Shoeing workFerradou - Shoeing work
Discover the crosses, shoeing looms and bread ovens of the Lot Valley, relics of times gone by…
#1
Crosses
Lozère, and particularly the Lot Valley, is home to a large number of crosses. They are the symbol of the religious fervor (Catholic religion) that once animated the Gévaudan. Their sheer number, however, should not obscure the fact that each one you come across is there for a specific purpose. They can be classified into several main groups:
- Christianization crosses placed on pagan cult sites
- crosses used to worship the dead
- pilgrimage crosses
- procession and mission crosses
- and finally, boundary crosses.
Crosses placed along roads and bridges also served to reassure travellers, as they evoked the presence of God on dangerous paths that were the source of many ills. In the Lot Valley, these crosses can be made of stone or wrought iron.
CrossStone cross.
Ferradou MontjezieuFerradou Montjezieu
#2
Horseshoeing frames or “ferradous
As their name suggests, they were used to shoe animals used for skidding and field work. Cows and oxen were mainly shod, as they were more placid than horses. These “ferradous“, as they’re known here, bear witness to Lozère’s agricultural past, and are becoming increasingly rare as most of them, made of wood, suffer from the wear and tear of time and need to be maintained.
#3
Bread ovens
In rural Lozère, where life was harsh and the shadow of famine hung over the population, bread was indispensable. Before the development of bakeries, villagers regularly gathered around the communal oven, where bread was baked. Bread ovens were mostly built on the same plan: they consisted of a shed with a frame or vaulted roof covered with lauze, and a heating chamber protected by masonry walls and always vaulted to conserve heat. At the time, virtually every village and hamlet had its own baker’s oven; today, the majority are very well preserved.
Four A Paint Saint SaturninFour A Paint Saint Saturnin
- Where can we find a bread oven?
In our region, almost every hamlet has one!
So… what are you waiting for to visit the villages of the Lot Valley?
- What is the language of the word "ferradou"?
It’s patois!
As the locals would say, “le patois de chez nous” is specific to the region. And some words are different from one department to another… Take a look at our local expressions by clicking here.
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