We recently came across this at the side of a mountain road in the Sidobre region of Tarn (Midi-Pyrénées, France):

Here are the sinks (for want of a better word) inside:

Any ideas?

Just a water supply I’d say.

spring & water trough ?

edit, BAH !!

It’s a lavoir (laverie) innit. A place where ladies gathered to wash clothes.

Edited

I’d cuncur with the above, the structure might also have been used for washing clothes.
*MUST TYPE FASTER*

Looks like the washing things you see in the villages?

Or the gateway to Hell.

oh yeah, gateway to hell – that’s it. knew I’d seen it somewhere

It’s a lavoir (laverie) innit. A place where ladies gathered to wash clothes.

Thank you, I shall inform my in-laws who reside in Tarn and couldn’t tell me.

Oddly, we didn’t see evidence of habitation near, although there may have been some homes one or two levels up on the twisty road.

It may have been sited there because the water supply was there, and people from other directions may have been used to a good old hike to get there.

In terms of economics/logistics, before proper running water came to my nan’s village in the 20’s/30’s (remote Pyrenees, mostly poor farm labourers) they had a population of 1200 or so and only 2 of those plus a few hand pumps around the village. They both still ‘work’ now, though one is not reccomended for drinking out of now and no one does their washing in them anymore.

Ah, that’s interesting. Thanks very much for that Julian.