de plusieurs infrastructures de ce type dans le village. Chaque quartier devait disposer d’un lavoir afin de permettre aux femmes chargées de la « bugade » d’avoir moins de chemin à faire pour effectuer leur lessive. La plupart du temps, les lavoirs furent installés à proximité d’une fontaine, qui se trouve toujours en amont du lavoir. Ici, c’est la grande fontaine de Cadenet, se trouvant sur la place juste audessus, qui va alimenter le lavoir. C’est le seul lavoir souterrain du village, les autres ayant un toit construit, et sa situation discrète a conduit à des difficultés particulières : à la fin du XIXe siècle, les lavandières se sont plaintes à la mairie car des hommes allaient s’y soulager, rendant le lavoir inutilisable, car trop sale. La mairie prit donc des mesures pour rénover totalement le lavoir, interdit officiellement ce comportement, et demanda au garde champêtre de sévir en cas d’infraction.

Guillaume Beckert – Association C.L.E.F.

***

Washing place, avenue Gambetta. This washing place was installed as part of a more general plan for the infrastructures of the village. Each neighborhood was to have its washing place so that the women in charge of the “bugade” didn’t have to walk so far to do the washing. Most of these washing places were adjoining existing fountains, which were always ahead of the washing basin. Here, water from the main fountain in Cadenet located on the square above, runs into the washing place. It is the only underground washing place in the village, as all the others are covered by a roof structure. However, its discreet location did lead to some rather particular problems : nearing the end of the nineteenth century the village “lavandières” or washerwomen lodged a complaint at the town hall, since men had been using the washing place to relieve themselves, leaving it dirty and unusable. So, the town council had suchbehavior banned, asking the village policeman to apprehend any guilty party in case of offense. They also had the washing place completely renovated.