Cléry-Le-Grand brings together several distinct themes: the vanished Ancien moulin represents grain milling using water power, while the Église Saint-Laurent reflects building phases from the 12th to the 19th century. The Stèle du capitaine Harris, guerre 14-18, commemorates an event from 1918. Cyclists also have a specific connection here: the Ciel de Meuse: Portes d’Argonne route, which leads to the entrance to the village before turning towards Aincreville.
Mill history on the Andon
The Ancien moulin was built in the 19th century as a grain mill. Its millstones were powered by a waterwheel turned by the current of the Andon. The power transmission can be described step by step: the watercourse moved the wheel, and the wheel drove the stones. The mill itself has disappeared; its sluice gates remain and are still used, depending on the water flow. This distinguishes the former grain-milling operation from the conditional use of the remaining hydraulic structures.
A church with several building phases
The Église Saint-Laurent is a former castle chapel dating from the 12th century. It was remodelled in the 16th century; the present-day choir dates from the 19th century. These details refer to different phases: its origins as a castle chapel, the later remodelling, and a choir from a still later century. The church therefore cannot be reduced to a single period of construction; its history spans from its medieval origins to a component dating from the 19th century.
Harris memorial and Monument aux morts
The Stèle du capitaine Harris, guerre 14-18, was erected from granite in 1925. It stands near the place where Charles Dashiell Harris fell, along the road from Cléry-Le-Grand to Cunel. Harris was fatally wounded on 20 October 1918 in a trench in the Bois des Clairs-Chênes, within the territory of Cléry-Le-Grand. The dates therefore refer to different events: 1918, the fatal wounding; 1925, the erection of the stele. Another memorial is the Monument aux morts: an obelisk topped by a sky-blue-painted bust of a Poilu. While the Harris stele is associated with a named individual and a road, the Monument aux morts is distinguished by its described shape and colour.
Classifying the cycle route by bicycle type
The route description for the Ciel de Meuse: Portes d’Argonne, updated on 23 December 2024, leads to the entrance to Cléry-Le-Grand and then turns towards Aincreville. It rates the route as easy for road bikes, very easy for electric bikes, and easy for VTC bikes. Road bikes and VTC bikes therefore share the same rating; electric bikes are rated separately. If you include the route in your plans, you can take this classification into account for the type of bicycle you are using.
Discover more destinations: Landrecourt-Lempire, Verdun-Sur-Meuse, Woel, Rarécourt, Clermont-En-Argonne, Beausite, Vaux-devant-Damloup, Bonnet
Return to the main travel overview: Meuse.
