Bolbec
Encyclopedia
Bolbec is a commune
in the Seine-Maritime
department in the Haute-Normandie
region
in northern France
. Its inhabitants are called Bolbécais or Bolbécaises.
town situated at the heart of three valleys in the Pays de Caux
, some 19 miles (30.6 km) northeast of Le Havre
. It is the source of the river Commerce
, though here it is known as the river Bolbec. The town has many small lanes (ruelles) with some pretty houses.
.
Bolbec developed thanks to the numerous mills which lined the river banks through the town. These mills, numbering 14 in the middle of the 19th century, allowed the development of a textile industry based on water power, and later steam, to power the machinery.
Today, only three mills remain: one at the source of the river in the grounds of the Oril factory; one at Vallot; and one in the Ruelle Papavoine.
At the end of the 18th century, a number of manufacturers installed themselves at Bolbec to produce "Indiennes" (printed textiles). On the eve of the Revolution, Bolbec had 18 factories. In 1806, there were 27 producing Indiennes employing nearly 800 workers.
The importance of textiles in the Bolbec Valley was recognised by the state with the creation of the Chambre des Arts et Manufactures in 1806 (which became the Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and further, with the creation of a Conseil des Prud’hommes in 1813. However, over the years the textile industry suffered economic crises and by the end of the 19th century there was just one indiennerie remaining.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
department in the Haute-Normandie
Haute-Normandie
Upper Normandy is one of the 27 regions of France. It was created in 1984 from two départements: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Normandy was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continues to provoke controversy, and some continue to call for reuniting the two regions...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Its inhabitants are called Bolbécais or Bolbécaises.
Geography
A farming, quarrying and light industrialLight industry
Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...
town situated at the heart of three valleys in the Pays de Caux
Pays de Caux
The Pays de Caux is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French département of Seine Maritime in Haute-Normandie. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cliffs on the English Channel coast - its coastline is known as the Côte d'Albâtre...
, some 19 miles (30.6 km) northeast of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. It is the source of the river Commerce
Commerce River
The river Bolbec or Commerce is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of the southern Pays de Caux in the Seine-Maritime département of Haute-Normandie into the Seine....
, though here it is known as the river Bolbec. The town has many small lanes (ruelles) with some pretty houses.
History
The first written record of the town dates from the end of the 11th century, as Bolebec. Archeological discoveries indicate that the site has been inhabited since ancient times. The first lord of Bolbec was Osbern de Bolbec (around 992) and the last was the Duc de Charost who was executed during the French revolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Today, only three mills remain: one at the source of the river in the grounds of the Oril factory; one at Vallot; and one in the Ruelle Papavoine.
At the end of the 18th century, a number of manufacturers installed themselves at Bolbec to produce "Indiennes" (printed textiles). On the eve of the Revolution, Bolbec had 18 factories. In 1806, there were 27 producing Indiennes employing nearly 800 workers.
The importance of textiles in the Bolbec Valley was recognised by the state with the creation of the Chambre des Arts et Manufactures in 1806 (which became the Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and further, with the creation of a Conseil des Prud’hommes in 1813. However, over the years the textile industry suffered economic crises and by the end of the 19th century there was just one indiennerie remaining.
Bolbec today
Little remains of the textile history of the town. A single former factory remains, that of the Desgenétais works, closed in 1986. In effect, this site is the last witness of the impact of the textile factories on Bolbec town planning: school, creche, chapel, workers' and foremen's houses… The site provides an exceptional insight into the epoch.Heraldry
Industry
The principal employers in Bolbec are Oril Industrie, part of the Servier Pharmaceutical group, and Cooper Standard Automotive, automobile equipment manufacturers specialising in waterproofingSights
- Saint-Michel Church
- Manoir de Cailletot
- Mills: Moulins Seminel et du Vallot
- Château du Val au Grès
Notable people
- François Amable RuffinFrançois Amable RuffinFrançois Amable Ruffin was a Général de division of the First French Empire.- Biography :Having been captain of a company of volunteers from Bolbec, he was named commander of the 7th Battalion of Seine-Inférieure on 20 September 1792...
, (1771–1811), general - Richard Charles Blondel, (born 1827), general
- Marion Gilbert, (1876–1951), writer
- Jacques PrevelJacques PrevelJacques Marie Prevel was a French poet. His real first name was Jacques, but he added 'Marie' not to be mistaken with Jacques Prévert, whose surname is pronounced in a very similar way...
, (1915–1951), poet - Dominique NoguezDominique NoguezDominique Noguez is a French writer and winner of the Prix Femina, 1997, for Amour noir.-References:...
, born 1942, writer - Jacques Caudebec, (1664–1766), Huguenot Settler in America