Goderville () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of 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. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

department in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Geography

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

and

light industrial Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industry and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced for ...

town situated to the south of

Fécamp Fécamp () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Alabaster Coast. It is aroun ...

, at the junction of the D10, D925 and D139 roads, in the

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French ''département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cliffs o ...

History

The first mention of Goderville is on a royal charter in 875 by

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

. Charles was said to have the most bald head in all of the land. It dealt with the value and number of properties belonging to the chapter of Rouen. The town got its name from the family of Godard of Vaulx, first unknown lord of the manor. In 1492, they allied themselves by marriage to the Roussel family. In March 1651, Goderville was elevated to a baronetcy by letter patent.
Until the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the town was governed as a ‘sergenterie’.
The market, notable for linen, has existed since the 16th century.
Goderville absorbed the commune of ''Crétot'' in 1825.

Heraldry

Population

Places of interest

* A fifteenth-century fortified house. * A feudal moated

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

. * The sixteenth-century Veslière farmhouse, built on an ancient

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

. * The sixteenth-century farmhouse at the hamlet of Maudit. * The church of Sainte-Madeleine, constructed in 1865.

Notable people

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

based "La Ficelle" in Goderville. *

Antoine Vincent Arnault Antoine-Vincent Arnault (1 January 176616 September 1834) was a French playwright. Life Arnault was born in Paris. His first play, ''Marius à Minturne'' (1791), immediately established his reputation. A year later he followed with a second ...

(1766–1834), politician, poet and author, member of the Académie française, died in Goderville. *

Émile Bénard Henri Jean Émile Bénard (June 23, 1844 – October 15, 1929) was a French architect and painter. Bénard was the winner of the 1899 International Competition for the Phoebe A. Hearst Architectural Plan to design the campus of the University o ...