Forges Mondière, Former knife forge in the Durolle valley, Thiers, France

The Forges Mondière is a former knife-blade forging works in the Vallée des Usines at Thiers, built in the minor bed of the Durolle. Its connected roofs are covered in overlapping rows of reddish-brown terracotta tiles, with sections set at different levels and angles above dark walls; a rectangular metal vent sits on one slope, and a tall narrow sign reading "Mondière" stands nearby.

A grinding mill stood on this site by 1476. It became a paper mill at the end of the 16th century, producing writing paper for government ministries, and closed in the mid-19th century. A cutlery works and sawmill followed in the 1880s, and in 1901 the plant became a forge stamping knife blades. It shut abruptly in 1984.

The factory takes its name from a former owner who was also its director; in 1914 he built an adjoining annex housing the offices and his official residence. By the 15th century a quarter of Thiers' population worked as cutlers, and in the 17th century valley goods reached Spain, Italy, Germany, Turkey and the Indies.

The factory stands in the minor bed of the Durolle, in the narrowest part of the Vallée des Usines, next to the former Delaire annex upstream and the May factory downstream. It is not open to visitors: the town bought it in 1984 to extend the cutlery museum, then dropped that project in favour of the May factory and the Vallée des Rouets. The building can be seen from the valley path; the tall "Mondière" sign marks it.

The factory name comes from the surname of a former owner who also directed the works; in 1914 he built an adjoining annex housing the offices and his official residence. The site stands in the minor bed of the Durolle, next to a former annex of the Delaire forges upstream and the May factory downstream.