613 



COTES-DU-NORD. 



COTES-DU-NORD. 



611 



The linen manufacture, introduced in the 15th century by the 

 Baroness de Quintin, a Flemish lady, has since continued the staple 

 trade of the department, and though it has declined of late years it 

 i . still considerable. Its former importance may be estimated from 

 the returns for the year 1836, when the number of weavers employed 

 amounted to 8539, who produced in that year 8,358,000 yards of 

 linen cloth, representing a money value of 11,144,000 francs. Linen 

 forms the clothing of the poorer classes of the population both winter 

 H'.id summer; and it is largely exported to Spain and South America. 

 Other articles of export are cattle, horses, tallow, salt butter, honey, 

 wax, Ac. About 425 fairs are held in the year. The number of wind 

 and water-mills amounts to 1822, of iron furnaces to 20, and of 

 factories of various kinds to 460. Druidical remains and old feudal 

 castles are numerous in this department and in all parts of 

 Bretagne. 



The principal river is the Ranee, which rising in the south-east of 

 the Armoric Hills, sweeps round to north-east through a gap in the 

 range, and passing St.-Jouon-de-1'Isle, Evran, and Dinau (where it 

 begins to be navigable), enters the sea at St.-Malo. By means of the 

 llance, the Vilaine, and the Canal-de-1'Ille-et-Rance, which, running 

 from Diuan to near Renne, unites these rivers, the inland communi- 

 cation between the Ensrlish Channel and the Bay of Biscay is completed. 

 The A veil and the Blavet, which flow through the department of 

 Jlorbihan, and the Meu, a feeder of the Vilaine, rise in the southern 

 slopes of the same range. The rivers that flow into the English 

 Channel are famous for lovely scenery ; they are short and unim- 

 portant, except that at then- mouths they generally form commodious 

 harbours for small craft, and are navigable at high water a few miles 

 inland. The chief of them, besides the Ranee, are the Guer, the 

 Trieux, the Leff, the Gouet, the Evron, the Guessan, and the 

 Arguenon. The coast district north of Lannion and Treguier, and 

 watered by the Guer and the Jaudy, is the chief scene of the exploits 

 of King Arthur according to the Breton romance writers. The 

 department is traversed by 7 royal and 14 departmental roads. 



The surface of the department measures 1,701,738 acres, of which 

 1,016,576 are more or less capable of cultivation, 134,716 are natural 

 pasture-land, 320,346 are heath and moorland, 13,770 are under 

 orchards, nurseries, and gardens, and 100,177 are under woods and 

 forests. 



The department is divided into 5 arrondissements, which, with 

 their population and subdivisions, are as follows : 



ArrondiuemwiU. i Cantoni. i Commune*. Population in 1851. 



1. St. Brienc 



2. Dinan . 



8. Loudtac . 



4. Lannion 



5. Guinjiamp 



11 



10 

 9 

 7 



10 



97 

 91 



03 

 73 



180,275 

 118,328 

 92,590 

 114,737 

 Ufi.CSS 



1. In the first arrondissement the chief town is St.-Brieuc, which is 

 noticed nnder BRIEUC, ST. Of the other towns those that follow give 

 names to cantons. The population given is that of the commune. 

 CMtelaiulren, W. of St-Brieuc, is a small well-built town on the road 

 to Morlaix. An elliptical walking-ground occupies the site of the 

 ancient castle which gave name to the town, and which was 

 demolished by Jean V., duke of Bretagne : population, 1 400. 

 Lnmhallc, a pretty town surrounded by old walls (population, 4206), 

 stands on a hill above the Gouessan, and is said to be in the territory 

 of the Ambiliati, mentioned by Julius Csesar (' Bell. Gal.,' iii. 9). There 

 n an old castle of the dukes of Penthicvre here, with a fine prome- 

 nade attached to it. Lamballe has a library ; it is famous for its 

 manufacture of parchment. The church of Notre Dame, situated on 

 the top of the bill, was originally the castle chapel. Lanvollon, a 

 little north of Chatelaudren, is a market-town with some curious old 

 wooden houses, one of which dates from 1559 : population, 1500. 

 Moncmtour, S.E. of St.-Brieuc, has linen and sail-cloth manufactures, 

 and tanyards, and a population of 1678. Paimpol, at the mouth of 

 th Trieux, has a good harbour, a tribunal of commerce, a naval 

 school, and 2100 inhabitants. This town is built on the slope of a 

 peninsular projection composed of clay-slate, and more than 200 feet 

 above the *e. The isthmus that joins it to the mainland is flooded 

 at spring-tide. The harbour is the best along the coast from St.-Malo 

 to Morlaix. The quays are good and lined with pretty houses. 

 Below the town on the shore are the fine ruins of the Abbey of Notre 

 Dame de Beauport. Ship cordages, cotton-yarn, leather, beer, and 

 salt an the chiuf industrial products of Paimpol. It trades in corn, 

 hemp, flax-seed, flax, honey, wax, butter, fresh and salt fish, Norway 

 timbers, Ac. Plmc, 15 miles from St.-Brieuc, has 5343 inhabitants, 

 who trade in yarn, hemp, butter, and cattle. Plmha, near tho coast, 

 is situated on a hill, t the intersection of seven roads, which form as 

 many streets, and has a population of 4818. The parish church, a 

 large and ancient structure, stands in the centre of a vast cemetery 

 planted with cedars ; the spire rises to the height of nearly 300 feet. 

 On the seashore is the chapel of St.-Kuge'uie. There is a larc'c 

 'ical stone near the to fa, hi a pretty valley on the 



' , has several fine linen factories, blast furnaces, iron foundries, 



and paper-mills. It is the seat of a tribunal of commerce, and has 

 4112 inhabitants. The town-house and the old cathedral are remark- 

 able buildings, the latter especially so, in consequence of all the 

 pillars that support the roof being some feet out of the perpendicular. 

 Behind the choir are five beautiful chapels. There are soma Druidical 

 remains near this town. 



2. In the second arrondissement the chief town is Dinan, which 

 stands on a steep hill on the left bank of the Rauce, has a tide harbour 

 for vessels of 90 tons, a tribunal of first instance, ecclesiastical and 

 communal colleges, and 7732 inhabitants, including the commune. 

 The town, which is surrounded by walls and entered by four gates, is 

 generally ill built and ill laid out ; the houses are mostly of wood. 

 The church of St.-Sauveur, in which the heart of Bertrand du Guesclin 

 is deposited, the church of St.-Malo, the old citadel now used as a 



! prison, and the gate-entrances of the town are the most remarkable 

 structures. Sail-cloth, linen, calico, woollens, leather, potteiy, and sugar 

 are manufactured ; there is also an active trade in timber, planks, 

 seeds, slates, Norway deals, salt, &c., by the Canal-de-1'Ille-et-Rance. 

 Dinan is much frequented for its mineral waters. A steamboat runs 

 daily to St.-Malo and back; the passage down the Ranee is most 

 picturesque. The population given with the following towns is that 

 of the commune : Broom, the birthplace of Bertnmd du Guesclin, 

 to whom a monument has been lately erected on the ruins of the 

 castle of Lamotte-Broona : population, 2504. Corseul is built among 

 the ruins of an ancient town, and is said to take its name from the 

 Celtic Curiosolites : it has 4236 inhabitants. There are many frag- 

 ments of ancient buildings here. The ruins of the castle of Moutafilan 

 cover a large space. vran, on the Canal-de-1'Ille-et-Rance, is a place 

 of some trade, with a population of 4163. Ploubalay has a population 

 of 2536. 



3. In the third arrondissemeut the chief town, Lowdiac, 30 miles 

 S. from St.-Brieuc, has a tribunal of first instance, a consultative 

 chamber of manufactures, a college, and C229 inhabitants, who 

 manufacture iron, paper, and linen, and trade in slates, cider, &c. 

 This town is the centre of a large linen trade. The other towns are 

 Mar, near the left bank of the Blavet, population, 2767 ; Plougaenast, 

 near the Lie', population, 3622 ; Merdrignac, 18 miles from Loude'ac, 

 has iron foundries, and a population of 2894 ; and Uzel, on a hill 

 above the Oust, has a consultative chamber of manufactures, and 

 2100 inhabitants. 



4. In the fourth arrondissement the chief town, Lannion, an ill- 

 built place near the mouth of the Guer, has a tide-harbour, a tribunal 

 of first instance, a college, and 6075 inhabitants, who trade in deals, 

 Bordeaux wine, colonial produce, corn, and the productions of the 

 department. The following places give names to cantons ; the popu- 

 lation given with each is that of the commune : La-Roche-Derrien, 

 formerly famous for the ancient castle of the counts of Penthievre, 

 which is often mentioned in the old tales of chivalry, is a small place 

 12 miles from Lannion. Lezardieu, at the mouth of the Trieux, 

 which is here crossed by a wire suspension-bridge, has 2934 inha- 

 bitants. Perros-Guirec, on the coast, has a safe tide-harbour, 

 sheltered by the Isle of Thome', and contains a population of 2365. 

 Plegtin, in the north-western angle of the department, has 4355 

 inhabitants, who trade in iron, coal, timber, corn, &c., by the little 

 harbour of Toul-an- II '(ry, about a mile and a quarter distant. 

 Plouaret, a little S.E. of Plestin, has 5241 inhabitants. TrGguier, on 

 the river Tre'guier (which is formed by the junction of the Guindy 

 and the Jaudy, and is navigable for 9 miles from its mouth), is a 

 wi'll-built place, with an excellent deep harbour and roadstead : it has 

 3382 inhabitants, who are engaged in fishing and in the coasting trade. 

 The town is built on the slope of a hill facing the sea. The old 

 cathedral, which has been classed among the historical monuments of 

 France, is a handsome gothic structure surmounted by a tower, and 

 adorned with numerous sculptures. The adjacent cloisters are the 

 largest and most elegant of those structures in France. They were 

 built in 1461, and are pierced by 50 noble arches. In them are five 

 stone sarcophagi, containing the remains of personages unknown. 

 The cloisters and the space they inclose are now used as a market. 

 The bishopric of Tre'guier (Trecorium) was founded in the 5th 

 century; it was united to the see of St.-Brieuc. The tide rises 

 19 feet at neaps and 36 feet at springs in the harbour of 

 Tre'guier. 



5. In the fifth arrondissement the chief town Gitinyamp, on the 

 Trieux, was formerly one of the most considerable places in the 

 county of Penthievre. It is situated in a vast plain 21 miles W.N.W. 

 from St.-Brieuc, and was once surrounded by walls, part of which 

 remains. There are several good buildings in the town, which has a 

 tribunal of first instance, and 6718 inhabitants, who manufacture 

 linen, leather, hats, twine, &c., and trade in iron, brandy, wine, and 

 the produce of the department. Amongst the other towns the 

 following are given as they give names to cantons : the population 

 however is that of the communes : Bayard, N.W. of Guingamp : 

 population, 3821. ' JSeUe-Ile-m-Terre, a small place near the Guer, in 

 the centre of an iron district, has several important blast furnaces 

 and foundries : population, 1740. Bourbriac, S. of Guingamp (popu- 

 lation. 411 t) trades in cattle and farm produce. Plofzal, 15 miles 

 from Guingamp : population, 3107. 



The department forms the see of the Bi ihop of St.-Brieuc, is under 



