7* i:riiK. 



council of Prud'-Hommes, and 9998 inhabitant*. The old part of the 

 town, which consists of a few broad street* communicating with each 

 other by a multitude of narrow lane*, is entirely built of wood ; the 

 new part is built of brick and cut-stone, and present* some pretty 

 streets. The church of Notre-Damr, the nave and choir of whi. -h 

 date from 1218, is a very imposing edifice ; the south portal, which 

 WAS completed in 1496, is particularly admired for its bold projections 

 and florid ornament*. The painted windows of this church are dis- 

 tinguished for the angular drawing and quaint designs that characterise 

 an early period of art The houae of the Templars, a moat curious 

 specimen of the domestic architecture of the 12th century, the public 

 library, and the theatre are the other most striking objects in the 

 town. Louvirrs is one of the chief seats of the cloth manufacture in 

 France; it has upwards of 40 factories, in which from 7000 to 8000 

 hands are employed. It has been long famous for the finest descrip- 

 tion of cloths (for uniforms, Ac.), which range from 30 to 65 francs 

 an elL Of late yean coarser cloths, cassimeres, fancy goods for trowsers, 

 mantles, Ac., are also made. There are also several woollen-yarn 

 factories, large tan-yards, bleaching establishments, card factories, 

 (team-engine and mill-work factories, dye-houses, brick-works, Ac., 

 and a brisk trade in corn, wood, charcoal, flax, wool, teazles, Ac. 

 Richard Cojur de Lion gave Louviers in exchange for the domain of 

 Andelys to the archbishop of Rouen, whose successors held the 

 seignory of the town with the title of count till the first French 

 revolution. Louviers was taken after a vigorous resistance of twenty- 

 six days by Henry V. in 1418. The Duke of Bedford besieged it in 

 1431, and after a stout defence, which lasted twenty-three weeks, the 

 town was taken and its walls and principal buildings were demolished. 

 Gaillon, 9 miles S.E. from Louviers, on the Paris-Rouen railroad, has 

 2596 inhabitants, who manufacture carpets, cotton-yarn, striped and 

 checked calicoes, Ac. The castle of Gaillon, which originally belonged 

 to the dukes of Normandy, and from the time of St Louis, to the 

 archbishops of Rouen, was rebuilt in a magnificent style in 1515 by 

 Cardinal Amboise. This building having been injured and in port 

 destroyed by fire in 1703, was soon after restored. It was sold at 

 the time of the first French revolution, and partially demolished. A 

 beautiful portico which separated the first and second courts of the 

 castle was removed stone by stone, and reconstructed in Paris in the 

 court of the Palaia-des-Beaux-Arts, of which it forms the grandest 

 ornament The castle, which now retains few features of its former 

 magnificence, was fitted up in 1812 as a central house of detention 

 for the convict* of the departments of Euro, Eure-et-Loir, Seine- 

 Inforienre, Orne, and Somme. Pitubvurg stands in a fertile plain south- 

 west of Louviers, and has 2105 inhabitants, who manufacture cotton, 

 and trade in corn, coarse linen, wool, and cattle. There are here the 

 remains of a fine old Norman castle, rich (as almost every spot in this 

 part of France is) in traditions connected with English history. 

 Henry I. of England took and burnt the castle in 111 8; on Henry's death 

 the Norman barons assembled here and resolved to support Stephen's 

 chum to the throne of England. In the castle of Neubourg also the 

 marriage of Marguerite of France with the eldest sou of Henry II. 

 was celebrated. The proximity of the castle brought much trouble 

 and many a siege upon the town. The remains of the castle were 

 fitted up during the minority of Louis XIV. by the Marquis de 

 Sourdiac, lord of Neubourg, as a theatre, in which the first attempts 

 at French opera were made by the representation of the 'Toison d'Or,' 

 of Pierre Corneille. In the same theatre in more recent times, all 

 the handsome women and pretty girls of all ranks from the adjacent 

 part* of Normandy used to assemble at a ball given on the feast of 

 St Paul in every year. The plain of Neubourg is entirely devoid of 

 water-courses, it is very fertile in corn ; some clumps of tree* left 

 here and there tend in some degree to relieve the monotony of its 

 scenery. Neubourg is the birthplace of M. Dupont de 1'Eure, the 

 distinguished French legislator and politician. Pont-de-TA. rche, a 

 station on the Paris-Rouen railroad, on the left bank of the Seine, 

 which u here again crossed by a bridge of 22 arches, has 1687 

 inhabitants, who trade in timber, cattle, fruit-trees, Ac. The tide 

 Mend* the Seine as far as this town. Pont-de-I' Arcbe owes its origin 

 to Charles le Chauvo, who erected here a palace, in which he convened 

 councils, held assemblies of hi* nobles, and drew up edict* : he also 

 built a bridge, defended by a citadel, from which the name of the 



the town yet remain flanked by circular towers. The bridge is a 

 picturesque object, with mills in some part of its length, and a lock 

 undrr one of the arches to facilitate the navigation of the river. On 

 the bank of the river near the town are the remains of a Cistercian 

 abbey, founded A.D. 1190, by Richard Cosur de Lion, in pursuance of 

 a TOW which he bad made when nearly lost in the rapid current of 

 the Seine. The church of Pon^de-l'Arche, though much dilapidated, 

 U a fine building in the decorated gothic style ; it has some rich 

 carvinu, and handsome painted window*. 



8. Of the third arrondissement the chief town, I^ei-A ndelyt, stands 

 in the territory of the Norman Vexin, on the right bank of the Seine, 

 and has a tribunal of first instance, and a population of 5345, who 

 manufacture cloth, cotton hosiery, linen, pipes, saboU, woollen and 

 cotton yarn, and leather. The town consists of two parts, Pttit- 



I-I-RE. we 



drand-Antlrly. Petit- Andely stands close to the Seine, 

 which' is here spanned by a fine suspension bridge of a single arch. 

 A large hospital, which was built by the Duke of Penthiovre in 1784, 

 surmounted by a dome, and an ancient inn built of wood, and called 

 jrand-Cerf, are the most remarkable object* in this part of the town. 

 Orand-Andely is about half a mile inland ; it has a very ancient 

 jothic church and a fine specimen of the domestic architecture of 

 .he 16th century in the houae called La Grande Maison, now used as 

 a granary. Orand-Andely, the more ancient part, sprung up round 

 an abbey for nuns, founded hero in A.D. 611 by Sainte Clotilde, the 

 wife of Clovis, whose holy well is still an object of veneration in the 

 neighbourhood. The abbey was burnt by the Northmen in 884, but was 

 soon after rebuilt The abbey church, which was early made colle- 

 riate, is remarkable for the beauty of it* stained-gloss windows. 

 Jn an eminence above the town stand the still majestic 

 ruins of Coaur-de-Lion's famous fortress of Chateau Gaillard. The 

 Duilding of the castle gave origin to Petit-Andely. The Chateau 

 3aillard was founded by Richard in 1195, after his return from 

 Palestine. It became one of the strongest places in France ; its walla 

 were 8 feet thick, and it was defended by 17 massive towers. Cojur 

 dp Lion died in this castle. Philippe August* took it in 1203 after an 

 eight months' siege. In 1314 it became the prison of Marguerite and 

 Blanche, the daughters-in-law of Philip the Fair, who were declared 

 guilty of adultery : Blanche spent seven years in it; Marguerite was 

 strangled after being imprisoned two years. David Bruce, king of 

 Scotland, found an asylum in Chateau Gaillnrd in 1334, and in 1356 

 Charles the Bad was shut up in it. The English, after a siege of 

 seven months, took the fortress in 1418, and held it till 1449, when 

 they were driven out by the French. Henri IV. took it in 1689 ; but 

 it was soon after recovered by the party of the League, who held it 

 till 1591. Henri IV. had it entirely dismantled ; the keep alone was 

 spared, which however was partly demolished in 1616 by order of 

 Louis XIII. From the Cdte-des-dcux-AmanU, a hill which stands 

 above the village of Amfreville, near the junction of the Andelle with 

 the Seine, and connected with which there is an interesting local 

 tradition, there is one of the finest views in Normandy, comprising 

 the valleys of the Seine, the Eure, aud the Andelle, the towns of 

 Louviers and Elbeuf, with numerous bridged, old castles, forests, 

 factories, and villages. Villitrt, a small place near Les-Audelys, was 

 the birthplace of N. Poussin. Gitort, in a fertile plain on the Epto, 

 is surrounded by walls and ditches, and was formerly defended by a 

 castle, the keep and a tower of which ore still standing. The inclosure 

 of the castle ia used as a market-place ; the ditch is planted with 

 trees and forms a promenade. The church, dedicated to St Gervais 

 and St Protois, dates from the 13th century, but having been often 

 repaired it presents various styles; the portal is in the renaissance 

 style, and the finest specimen of the kind in Normandy. The interior 

 contains a curious monument, on which the representation of a dead 

 body is sculptured in marble. The town has 3624 inhabitants, some 

 cotton-spinning and bleaching establishments, tan-yards, and breweries. 

 In the neighbourhood are copper and zinc works. PUury-tur-AndcUe, 

 a mere hamlet in 1830, has now a population of 1065, cotton factories, 

 print-works, and brick and limo kilns. Liont-la-Ftrlt, 14 miles N. 

 from Les-Andelys, is built round and on the site of the ancient castle 

 in which William Longsword died and William the Bastard spent 

 part of his youth. There was a town here in Roman times. The 

 population is 1524. 



4. In the fourth orrondissement the chief town, Bernay, stands on 

 the left bank of the Charentonne, has tribunals of first instance and 

 of commerce, a college, savings bank, and 6871 inhabitants. Judith 

 de Bretagne, Richard ll.'s queen, had this town as part of her dowry, 

 and founded on abbey in it The abbey-church, the nave of which is 

 remarkable for its severe simplicity and unadorned elegance, is now 

 used as a corn and linen market In the abbey-buildings the sub- 

 prefect and the mayor reside, and the courts of justice are held. The 

 other important buildings are the churches of Sainte-Croix and De-la- 

 Couture, the college and the hospital. The town was fortified in the 

 13th century, and was then a place of importance for its market, its 

 fairs, and it* woollen manufactures. It was often taken in the wan 

 between the French and English. The fortifications were demolished 

 in 1589. The chief manufactures of Bernay are woollen-cloth; but 

 flannels, tape, linen, leather, Ac., are made. There are also dye-houses 

 and bleaching establishments, and a good trade in corn, cider, iron, 

 paper, hides, and cattle. One of the greatest horse-fain in France is 

 held here during the fifth week of I<ent Jkaumont-le- Roger, on the 

 right bank of the Rille, and near the fine forest of Beaumont, was 

 formerly defended by a castle, which was for centuries an object of 

 contention with the Normans, French, and English, but which is now 

 in ruins. The town ban cloth-factories, bleach-works, glass-works, and 

 2063 inhabitants. Of the cattle, which was originally built about 

 1040, there are scarcely any remains ; but on the summit of the rocky 

 height on which it stood are the picturesque ruins of on ancient abbey. 

 Ilrionnr, N.E. of Bernay, an ancient town on the right bonk of the 

 Rille, has 3098 inhabitants, who manufacture broad-cloth, oil, and 

 cotton-yarn. Four Roman roads met at Brionne : some Roman 

 remains are seen in the adjacent forest The Norman castle that for- 

 merly commanded the town is now in ruins. Jiroglie, S.W. of Bernay, 

 is a small place of 1024 inhabitants, from which the Due de Broglie 



