The Hamlet of Marty
Belpech, a village to discover
From yesteryears to nowadays, what a history…
In the middle ages, the first known name for this hamlet, located at the end of the bridge over the Hers, was Castecapou. This toponym suggests the site held a defensive watch post. It is believed the site was occupied much earlier on as Neolithic polished stone axes have been found by the river.
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The tenant farm established there took the name of Marty in the XVIIth century, from the patronym of the tenant, Jean Marty, holding the farm for the De Douanes family. As time went by, several other families established themselves there and the Hamlet of Marty was founded.
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We know the bridge over the Hers, with its four arches, did not exist in 1355: to cross the river, it was necessary to use the fording of "Mourgailh", set upstream from the Hers and Vixiège confluence. Important repair works on the bridge took place in 1748, then in 1923-1924, when the bridge was enlarged from 3.75 m to 6 m over a length of 84 m.
Thanks to L. and T. Guillosson
for translation
The Bosquet Mill
Walk on the bridge and notice the Rivesaltes Mill (today known as the Bosquet mill).It can be traced back to the XIIIth century. It was a flour mill for commoners and lords.
The original mill dam, built in wood, was destroyed by a large flood in 1841. Ten years later, a new dam was built upstream out of stones and bricks. On the above postcard, the original wooden posts holding the medieval dam can still be seen near the millstream.
In 1934, the place became the "Minoterie du Bosquet". The flour mill operated until 1964. During the XXth century, the mill saw many uses beside flour production: a saw mill and a power station, the latter providing public lighting for the village from 1898 until 1925.
In 1981, the owner installed a new power station with two turbines.