Tour des Billes

THE SAINT-JACQUES LAUNDRY
Former Saint-Jacques washhouse dating from 1887, fed by the Bouzaize river which springs from its underground passage under the Hôtel-Dieu.

'La grosse Tour' is one of the four towers built in the early 16th century and is decorated on the boulevard side with the coat of arms of the Governor of Burgundy, La Trémouille. It was involved in the surveillance of the plain by guarding the road to Verdun, as the nearby Saône formed the border between the Kingdom and the Empire until 1678. The tower was bought by the House of Calvet of Bordeaux in 1891 and served as a prestigious tasting room for this merchant before being acquired by the city administration. At the top of the tower is an ornamental garden. Watchtower built at the end of the 14th century and part of the Great Tower. The 'Tour des Billes', visible from the side of the town centre, was used to store the wood (logs) used for defence.
It overlooks the old Posterne or Porte Belvent, near the Rue des Bouchers and the "Tuerie", an 18th century slaughterhouse above the Bouzaize. remparts-beaune.fr

The Saint-Jacques washhouse was built in 1887 at the foot of the ramparts, where the Bouzaize river reemerges after its mysterious passage under the Hôtel-Dieu.
The washhouse was in use for a long time and was mainly used by the washerwomen of a nearby laundry.
On the other side of the boulevard was the tanners' quarter, whose stinking vats were dug directly into the ground.
remparts-beaune.fr