Maison éclusière de La Tiffardière (Niort)

At 700 m. downstream from La Roussille, the current lock is built on the site of an old ford which, certainly in the Xvè s., was converted into a port of embarkation for the marine wood intended to build ships in Rochefort-s. -Sea; the oaks of the forest of Secondigny retained being marked with a fleur de lys and an anchor.
The engineer of the Bridges and Roadways Laffore in 1847 and Joseph Maire from 1851 propose the digging of channels of righting of the old meanders of the Sèvre Niortaise by penetrating the hillsides. The plans were drawn up in 1856. Only a few small curves formed new islands and the locks were built.
The Tiffardière, dating from 1860, was renovated in 2017-18 for a reopening to navigation on the public domain. As for its lock house, it was sold in 2008 to a resident of the mill of the same name.