Marché

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

On 7 February 1928, the governor of Martinique authorised the municipality of Trois-Ilets to construct a covered market. The municipality then entered into a contract with the house of Léon DUBOIS of Nantes on 18 October 1928, for the supply of the metal framework. It ordered from him: « - a metal framework constituted by three standard trusses of 7 metres 60 span, two special trusses receiving the attachments of the roof ribs, two hip rafters, ten posts above trusses, four corner posts, four uprights under the wall plates, gables forming door frames. All these uprights resting on foundations levelled at 0.30 below ground level. - a line of ridge purlins with lattice and bracing struts extending to the gables by the hip rafters, two lines of standard purlins in I-section, two lines of standard purlins in U-section turning back on the hips. The covering in corrugated sheet metal laid on purlins by galvanised hooks and projecting 0.30 in horizontal projection beyond the outer face of the posts, the ridge and roof ribs in galvanised sheet metal; the half-round zinc tiles no.12 fixed directly onto the corrugated sheet metal by galvanised hooks. Zinc downpipes with fixing collars and cast iron dolphins in I-section. - the panels of fixed grille between posts around the entire perimeter of the market composed of traverses in flat iron with barring in sixteen millimetre iron. The lower traverse with lugs for sealing sealed into the plinth. The upper part of 1M in decorative frieze around the building and fixed to the wall plate purlins. Two opening grilles with two leaves, traverse and barring conforming to the previous ones with safety locks and bolts and bottom set in reveal; a fanlight of 1 metre 85 on the part placed below level like the grilles below; a guard balustrade with handrail in round iron surrounding the staircase ». All the material ordered was delivered to Fort-de-France and then assembled by the municipal works department. There have been no arrangements, renovation or rehabilitation since the construction of this market. Nevertheless following the passage of Hurricane Dean in August 2006, the heavily deteriorated roof was entirely remade by the municipal works department. For a tourist commune, the market is little showcased. Yet it has an important place in the history of the commune. For example, during electoral campaigns, the rhetorical contests between opponents took place from Gabriel Hayot square. The opponent from the market answered the mayor who was facing him in the town hall. A cistern adjoins the rear façade of the market. It testifies to the major water problem that the population of Trois-Ilets, far from any river and located in the south of Martinique, where rainfall is low, had to face.

Description

It is a single-storey construction, consisting of a reinforced concrete slab faced with terracotta. The concrete plinth supports a metal roof structure covered with a four-pitched roof in tiled sheet metal. Its façades consist of wrought ironwork grilles with motifs on their upper parts. With regard to authenticity, the cistern adjoining its rear façade supplied water to the inhabitants of the town. It is now disused and houses the workshop of a sculptor. Furthermore, the market sign was placed just above the main entrance.