Coordinates: 49°18′05″N 0°04′33″W / 49.3013888889°N 0.0758333333333°W / 49.3013888889; -0.0758333333333
Houlgate (formerly Beuzeval ) is a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region of France. Its postal code is 14510.
Geography
Houlgate is located along the English Channel in the valley of the Drochon. The valley is mostly built up or used for animal grazing. The town's area is 4.69 km² and the average altitude 5 m. Despite its low average height, the town contains two hills which form the natural limits of the commune:
- Butte de Houlgate 123 m
- Butte de Caumont 103 m
The high parts of the town are covered by Houlgate's two woods: Le Bois de Boulogne on the Butte de Houlgate and Le Bois de la Butte de Caumont.
The Drochon
The douet (Normand variation of ruisseau or stream) Drochon (once spelt Drauchon) finds its name from the Germanic Drogo or Drogone. This stream, with an irregular flow, is formed by the confluence of at least ten lesser streams and brooks; The Mennetot, des Broches, Gonneville, Riqueville, Tolleville, the Pagné, Petiot, Désert and Bougon springs and the Bérézina.
Some of the springs and fountains of the Drochon's tributary are still subject to pilgrimage; the Saint-Laurent spring at Trousseauville is said to cure skin problems. One can see when visiting the site, discarded clothing. Pilgrims wet items of clothing and stroke their wounds and then offer the clothes as donation to the Saint.
The Drochon's estuary has always caused problems as sand accumulated. In 1880, the commune paid a labourer 135₣ a year to keep the river's bed clear and maintain the flow.
There were up to three mills, once the property of nobles or the Saint Etienne Abbey of Caen. The only mill still standing is the Moulin Landry which is privately owned. The village had one wash house built in 1885 which was restored in 1990 and still stands near the railway station.
Falaises des Vaches Noires
To the East of Houlgate and below Auberville and West of Villers-sur-Mer lie the impressive wild site of the Falaises des Vaches Noires, the cliffs of the black cows. These cliffs are a wide fossile necropolis underneath which lay countless ammonites. The cliffs are slowly being eaten by the sea. Areas of the cliffs have been nicknamed the desert , the chaos ... The chaos is prone to landslides due to the sipping of water from the ground and down to the beach. The top layers of clay slowly sliding above the layers underneath, creating unique terrain.
The cliffs are made of three distinct layers; Callovian, lower Oxfordian and higher Oxfordian.
Bois de Boulogne
The first photographs of the Butte de Houlgate show a barren hill. Quickly, the SCI planted trees. In 1928, the municipal council voted to create a picturesque zone to protect it from further building and maintain its character. This meant that the trees would be kept and would prevent future landslides. The plateau was from 1942 occupied by the Germans. They installed an artillery position with 155 mm cannons of French origin. The cannons were sunk in concrete and link to an important subterranean complex with food reserves and shelter. A Würzburg radar was installed to complete the installations. Beginning on the 26 April 1944 and up until the liberation, the site was heavily bombed and as a result was rased, this also resulted in the disappearance of all the conifers planted in the early 19 th century. Since then, vegetation has grown back; sycamores, horse-chestnut and ash.
Butte de Caumont
The Butte de Caumont was originally an arid area. Caumont comes from Calvus-Mons Mont Chauve , Shaved Mount and was named as such in 1260. In a charter written by Philip the Bold the hill is referred to as Chauve-Mont sur Dives.
History
Up until the last century, Beuzeval consisted of only a few small houses and farms, surrounded by small gardens with wild hedges dotted throughout the valley or on the hillsides. On the southern side of the stream was Le hameau de la mer , consisting of a few houses, a tile and brick manufacture and the picturesque water mill, the moulin Landry . In 1793, a mere 204 inhabitants live in the commune.
The sea was for a long time considered a danger and the local population lived further inland. Such can be seen by the old church of Beuzeval (now demolished), situated 3 kilometres inland.
Middle Ages
Houlgate was at first just a hamlet in the commune of Beuzeval. Beuzeval was part of the deanery of Beaumont and of the sergentery of Dives-sur-Mer.
Lords of Beuzeval
Saint-Aubin of Beuzeval was a very old parish and was part of the of fiefdom of the Aché (or Achey). There was a string of lords. With marriages, several families inherited the title; the Mailloc, de Saint-Laurens, de Morel, de Prémagny.
In 1066, Jean d'Aché is made lord of Beuzeval. In 1096, Eudes, the lord of Beuzeval is also made lord of Gonneville. In 1537, Marguerite Daché, lady of Beuzeval, married Jean Lebrun. In 1607, Thomas de Séran married Jeanne de Lesnerac and the lordship. The seigneurie went to Jacques de Séran, a protestant knight, in 1667.
François takes the title on in 1694. He is made Captain of the coast guards in Dives. With Marie Eléonore, they founde the Ecolettes which possessed a funding (rente) of £80 to pay for a teacher. The children of Beuzeval, in small numbers, was admitted to the school. This funding exited until the French revolution.
The de Morel family did not live in the Manoir de Beuzeval. Around 1720, Gaspard de Morel, knight, lord and sword general of the bailiwick of Caen, captain of the coast guards in Dives and High justice lord in Beuzeval. In 1724, his daughter, Anne de Morel married Jean Bart in Douville. Again in 1724, Gaspard de Morel sells his mill (then a privileged ownership) and two items of land to Pierre Pastey, a mill grinder.
The last family to hold the title was the des Boistard de Prémagny. Guillaume François, councillor to the king, lived in Rouen. He was squire, lord of Grangues and Vauville and sold land in Beuzeval. His daughter, Marie Françoise Delphine, married Pierre Armand de Saint-Philbert. Their son, Albéric de Saint-Philbert donated the field called le Clapier to build the current church of Saint-Aubin.
Little by little, the land of the Beuzeval was stripped and sold to rich farmers. The parish developed but was finally surpassed by Houlgate.
Beuzeval-les-Bains
It all started on the south side of the river Drochon, between 1845 and 1850, the fashion of sea bathing came to Beuzeval. The Pilter family opened the first guesthouse for poorer protestant families in 1851 on Rue Sébastien-de-Neufville. A few tourists from Caen and then Paris started staying in Beuzeval for their holidays. With numbers of tourists increasing a wooden boarding house was built. The sea side village was named Beuzeval-les-Bains and attracted much Protestant gentry. After a decrease in population from 1806, it increased from the 1860s: 270 inhabitants en 1851, 345 in 1861, 515 in 1872 and 1 011 en 1881. From the 1880s, the increased slowed.
Kursaal
During the 1870s was built the Kursaal, both a casino and baths, in Beuzeval-lès-Bains. It was built of wood on stilts and was situated between the William the Conqueror column and the PN83 level crossing. This complex of buildings, all in wooden planks, was built to carry two functions, a casino and baths as well as an entertainment centre for tourists. It was named the Kursaal , a word of Germanic origin, often translated in French and English as casino . Unlike Houlgate casino, there were gambling tables. It filled its purpose of baths well, containing warm baths and guarded beach but never succeeded in becoming a bona-fide casino. It remained little more than a ball. The Kursall was demolished by the Germans in 1941.
Hôtel Imbert
In 1877 was built the Hôtel Imbert, Houlgate's second grand hôtel, in Beuzeval-les-Bains. The hotel replaced the Mer-Imbert motel (Relais de l'hôtel de la Mer-Imbert) which had been built ten years earlier. In 1907, a rotunda was built, adding to the two wings. In 1921 a new wing to the building was built. The
Maison bois contemporaine - Construction maison en bois ...
Venez découvrir les maisons en bois, chalets en bois ... qualité de vie, de l’environnement, tout en favorisant l’innovation et la modernité de ses constructions en bois.
chalet madriers bois -1- Madriers de 40 mm -
... bois en madiers empilés : chalet bois en ... toute la France : Nous vous proposons des constructions unique sur plan à ... poids entre les deux types de constructions ...
CHALETS EN BOIS MAISONS EN BOIS CONSTRUCTION SUR TOUTE ...
... Constructions de toutes tailles et personnalisies. ... CHALETS EN BOIS MAISONS EN BOIS CONSTRUCTION SUR TOUTE LA FRANCE TEL: 00 ... vente_de_chalets_et_de_constructions_en_bois/ sob ...
Construction de chalets en rondins fuste bois brut ...
Rondins constructions, une histoire de famille qui se transmet de génération en ... eut l’idée de construire un premier chalet en bois ... des constructeurs en France ...
Bois de France, dans le Gard, constructions bio ...
Nous fournissons les bois d'ossature en Douglas de première qualité, livrable en kit pour les ... Accueil Bois d'oeuvre Charpentes Constructions Aménagements Isolation Localisation ...
chalets de roumanie
Ci dessus constructions faites en France EN ... de ventes de chalets LISEZ ... bois chalet comparatif offres tarifs partenariats france belgique ...
Honka, maisons et chalets en bois | Facebook
La marque Honka….les maisons et chalets en bois de qualité. Les constructions Honka sont écologique et ... Golf des Ardennes Poursaudes club de golf Nord France Belgique ...
constructeur chalets bois et maisons en pin rouge de ...
revendeur et constructeur de maisons en bois ... nos maisons, maisons bois et chalets bioclimatiques, sur mesure ou sur catalogue, en kit ... et vous proposons des constructions de ...
Abri de jardin - Garage en bois - Chalet de jardin ...
BOIS & JARDIN: Abris de jardin, garage bois, chalet de jardin, constructions annexes en ... et la commercialisation de constructions en ossature bois en France.
batitel.com > guide web > Constructions en bois ...
La catégorie "Constructions en bois, chalets (entreprises)" du moteur de ... Cuny - Société de constructions de chalets et maisons en bois dans tout le nord-est de la France