Le Four à Pain fed the Garrison
Le four à pain
The little building in the picture above was very important to the life of the Governor, his staff and the soldiers of the garrison at Fort Louis. Le four a pain translates from French to English as the bread oven.
Above the roof, on the horizon at the top of the hill, the picture shows the stones of the fort. To the right of the building is a plaque attached to a rock. This is what it looks like.
And this is what the English part says: – BREAD OVEN – The bread oven, built of stone and whitewash, was isolated by heat resistant bricks. It was covered by a wooden frame, and a shingle roof enabled the bakers to work in the shade. It was used to supply both the Garrison and the Governor’s mansion, the ruins of which were destroyed when the sous-préfecture was built in 1963.
Down on the streets of the city, almost everything is modern. A lot of repairs have been done after the 2017 hurricane. They brought in some powerful help to clean up the mess and carry away the rubble.
And, the bread oven was outside to minimize the heat in the mansion!
The bread oven is so interesting.Imagine people baking bread together.
Imagine people in parts of this world that are farther from the equator gathering together in the kitchen of the home because it is the warmest place. Physically and emotionally.
What a beautiful view on the video: the water is so blue!
I’m trying to wrap my head around what it must have been like to bake out there. I can understand the heat – actually, I can’t completely understand what it felt like, I simply understand the reasoning.
Thank you for taking us on today’s adventure!
From the description on the sign, I do not think there were walls enclosing the oven, just posts to support the roof for shade. That would let whatever breeze was available to blow through and remove some of the heat.
such an interesting find, Doug..
This is so cool—I love historical sites!