Agen : Former royal canvas factory, currently Valence barracks

The manufacture of canvas with sails, quickly raised to the rank of royal manufacture (title given on February 24, 1763), was built between 1764 and 1780 on the initiative of Pierre Gounon, the mayor of Agen. Hemp cultivated in the region of Agen, recognized as the best in the kingdom, makes it possible to produce canvases of superior quality, very popular with the royal navy. Production is important, with more than two hundred looms in 1782 in the workshops, and almost as many machines distributed in the city and its surroundings, where 7,000 spinners work at home. Hemp, first ground then combed in the manufacture, was classified into three quality categories; It was then distributed to the spinners, before returning to the manufacture to be bleached and woven. Despite this prosperous activity, a rapid decline begins after the end of the American War. The financial problems of the manufacture lead to its closure during the Revolution. A renewal occurs under the consulate and the empire, but this recovery does not last, because growing tobacco becomes more profitable. A dating deposit (1845-1933) and, from 1875, the Valence barracks settled in the old workshops. Since 1989, a gendarmerie unit partially occupies buildings, which are organized in two rectangular courses. The main building, raised on three levels, contained the old weaving workshop, a large room with edges of edges based on square pillars, which has long served as a refectory.