Bolbec () is a commune 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-Infér ...

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 and t ...

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 ar ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Bolbécais'' or ''Bolbécaises''.

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 peop ...

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their e ...

and light industrial town situated at the heart of three valleys 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 ...

, some northeast of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

. It is the source of the river

Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, natio ...

, 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 Osbern is a given name. Variants include Osbearn and Osbarn. Notable people with the name include: *Osbeorn Bulax (died 1054), son of Siward of Northumbria *Osbern the Steward Osbern de Crépon (died c. 1040), steward and seneschal of two Norman ...

(around 992) and the last was the Duc de Charost who was executed during 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. Through the Norman family of de Bolbec, the town gives its name to the village of

Swaffham Bulbeck Swaffham Bulbeck is a small village in East Cambridgeshire, England. Swaffham Bulbeck is located about from the city of Cambridge, and from the famous racing town of Newmarket. The parish of Swaffham Bulbeck is part of the Diocese of Ely an ...

in Cambridgeshire, England. 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 in 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 is the last French town in which

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

, his family, and Sally and James Hemings stayed in 1789 prior to their arrival in Le Havre to return to America after their time in Paris.

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

Population

Economy

Bolbec is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bolbec - Lillebonne.

Industry

The principal employers in Bolbec are Oril Industrie, part of the Servier Pharmaceutical group, and Cooper Standard Automotive, automobile equipment manufacturers specialising in waterproofing

Sights

* Saint-Michel Church * Manoir de Cailletot * Mills: Moulins Seminel et du Vallot * Château du Val au Grès

Notable people

* François Amable Ruffin, (1771–1811), general *

Richard Charles Blondel Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

, (born 1827), generalRecensement du patrimoine de France
*

Marion Gilbert Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

, (1876–1951), writer * Jacques Prevel, (1915–1951), poet * Dominique Noguez, born 1942, writer *

Jacques Caudebec Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

, (1664–1766), Huguenot Settler in America

Twin towns

* Ostercappeln * Bad Essen * Bohmte

Communes of the Seine-Maritime department The following is a list of the 708 communes of the French department of Seine-Maritime. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

, 1839 * Gustave F Mauconduit, ''Histoire des rues de Bolbec'',

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

, 1887 * Pierre Dardel, ''Les Manufactures de toiles peintes et de serges imprimées à

et à Bolbec aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles'',

, 1940 * Jacques Vauquelin, ''La libération de Bolbec (Aout-Septembre 1954)'', Bolbec, 1969 * Jacques Vauquelin, ''Bolbec, ses rues… ses places…'', Bolbec, 1970 * Jacques Vauquelin, ''Bolbec et son histoire…'', Bolbec, 1974 * Jacques Vauquelin, ''Chateaux - Manoirs - Monuments et Sites de la région Bolbécaise'', Bolbec, 1977 * ''Bolbec. Les hôtels de ville, les statues du jardin public'', 1982 * Collège Roncherolles / L.E.P. Pierre de Coubertin, ''Bolbec et son canton <>'', Bolbec, 1982 * Alain Avenel et Raymond Bernard, ''Splendeur des indiennes bolbécaises'', Bolbec, 1996 * Raymond Bernard, ''Bolbec. Ses rues d'hier à aujourd'hui'', 2003 * Alain Gilles / Jean-Marc Derrien, ''Bolbec dans les années 1900 - 1 - Monuments, lieux publics, gare, rues...'', 2004 * Alain Gilles / Jean-Marc Derrien, ''Bolbec de 1900 à 2000 - 3 - Travail et distractions des Bolbécais(es), biographie de Léon Desgenétais, sports, divers...'', 2006 * Raymond Bernard, ''Bolbec. Ses écoles d'hier à aujourd'hui'', 2006 * Philippe Delacroix, ''C.C.P.W.E n° 23. Le camp de prisonniers de guerre allemands de Bolbec (février 1945 - Août 1946)'' {{Authority control Communes of Seine-Maritime