Ponthoile () 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 Somme department of Hauts-de-France 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

Ponthoile is situated on the D235 road, some 15 km 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 ...

, near the bay of the Somme.

History

In 1346, during the Hundred Years War, English troops burnt and pillaged the towns of the

Ponthieu Ponthieu (, ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu play ...

on their way to the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

. Ponthoile was attacked on Saint-Barthélémy's day, 24 August, just two days before the battle, burning down the 12th-century church. In the 13th century, there were 180 homes in Ponthoile, according to Dom Grenier. After the ravages of the wars against the English and Burgundians, according to English statistics, there were only 48. The population of Ponthoile subsequently increase slowly into the middle of the 19th century, before declining again, as farming became mechanisied and people left for the big cities

Demography

Main sights

* Memorial to the aviation pioneers, the brothers Caudron. * Church of Saint Pierre. Badly damaged by two fires, it was decided, in 1836, to build a bigger, better church in brick and slate. Ponthoile-église.JPG, Saint-Pierre Church. Ponthoile, Somme, Fr, monument aux frères Caudron..jpg, Caudron's Memorial. Ponthoile-réplique de la grotte de Lourdes.JPG, Lourdes Grotto. Ponthoile, chapelle à Romaine.JPG, Chapel Fromentin, Romaine. Ponthoile Romaine gare.jpg, Former railway station in Romaine. Ponthoile-Morlay-Piste cyclable et circuit du héron..JPG, Roadsign in Morlay. Ponthoile-Romaine-1.JPG, Stork in Romaine.

References

External links