The “maison pontonnière”, located at Saigneville, hamlet of Petit-Port, once housed the “pontonnier”, in charge of operating the swing bridge when boats passed by on the Somme canal.Property of the State, and having been abandoned for more than 15 years, the house was sold on auction in September 2002. The “Syndicat Mixte pour l’Aménagement de la Côte Picarde” purchased it with the aim of preserving an original element of the architectural heritage of the lower valley of the Somme, and to create accommodation for hikers (on foot, horseback and bike).

A barge passing through the Petit-Port swing bridge.

The “maison pontonnière” is situated halfway between Abbeville and St Valery-sur-Somme, along the haulage route.

In front of the “maison pontonnière”, along the Somme canal, there is the café “Au repos des pêcheurs”, which serves drinks and light meals to the hikers From this summer, the cyclists, hikers and horse riders will be able to spend the night at the “maison pontonnière”.

THE WORKS: Restoration and fitting out as a gîte for hikers and cyclists.
 

The “maison pontonnière” and its outbuilding.

The first phase of the works took place at the beginning of 2005, and helped to construct a place for storing bikes, wood and other equipment.The very poor state of the house required greater restoration works than anticipated.These began at the end of June 2005, and consist of reconstructing the house exactly as it was before.

Layout :

Ground floor :
- a living room (table, chairs, TV) with a kitchen corner (refrigerator, vitro-ceramic plates, extractor hood, sink) and bed (2 person fold-up bed),
- bathroom: shower and toilet

Attic :
- One room for 4 persons (single beds)


July 2005 : Dismantling of the framework
 

September 2005 : relaying and upgrading of the brick foundation
 

October 2005 : construction of the framework
 

November 2005 : installation of the dormer windows, roof panels and insulation panels
 

January 2006 : installation of the roofing and façade boarding


Interior fittings