Grand-Laviers (; pcd, Grand-Lavier) is a commune in the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

department in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

The commune is situated on the D40 road, some northwest of

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

, by the banks of the canalised river

. The ancient forests of Abbeville remain as woods on the hills to the west of the village.

History

The Latin names ''Latverum'' or ''Laverum'' appear in the year 881 in the records of the

Abbey of St. Vaast The Abbey of St Vaast (french: Abbaye de Saint-Vaast) was a Benedictine monastery situated in Arras, ''département'' of Pas-de-Calais, France. History The abbey was founded in 667. Saint Vedast, or Vaast (c. 453–540) was the first Bisho ...

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

. Controversy surrounds the meaning of the name: « lavoir » according to some, « arm of a river » according to others. In 883, when the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

sacked the abbey at Saint-Quentin, the king

Carloman II of France Carloman II ( 866 – 6 December 884) was the King of West Francia from 879 until his death. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he and his elder brother, Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until the latter's d ...

, set up his camp at Laviers to block their passage to the sea. In the 11th century, a fort comprising a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade ...

on a

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 ...

was built at Laviers,near the Bois de Bonance, on a point jutting out towards the bay.
In 1137, Abbeville’s charter, granted by the Comte de Ponthieu mentioned « Laveriœ » In 1177, Jean de Ponthieu gave money to the leper hospital of the ''frères du Val'' and the gift of a forest was noted. The clearing of an area of the forest now known as the "Valley of the Lepers", between Laviers and Buigny-Saint-Maclou may have started up as early as 1164. In 1696, the leper hospital was finally closed down. In 1777, after a branch of the Somme was blocked at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, the authorities decided to build a canal from Abbeville to the estuary at Saint Valery. Work began in 1786 but hit problems in 1793 with the installation of the

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

-gates in the muddy sub-strata and above all, the reaction of the local farmers, raising sheep and cattle on the salt-marshes. Work resumed under the orders of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

in 1802, who wanted Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme as a war-port. In 1810, Spanish prisoners worked on the terracing and the maritime canal was inaugurated in 1827.
In 1840, Laviers took the name of Grand-Laviers and from 1845 to 1850, the railway line from Abbeville to Étaples was built, a section of the Paris – Boulogne line. The river bed of the

was filled and moved to accommodate the construction.
The town was comparatively safe during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, accommodating Indian colonial assistants.
In May 1940, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the town was separated from

. It was liberated by English troops in August 1944.
In 1953, a primary school was constructed at Grand-Laviers, and the following year, the pupils of the school inherited a castle from the Jusancourt family that now houses an educational medical institute.
On May 2, 1976, the commune of Petit-Laviers was amalgamated with Grand-Laviers.

Population

Places of interest

* Bonance woods. * fifteenth century church * The ruins of a 13th-century chapel which belonged to an old friary hospital.

Geography

History

Population

Places of interest

See also