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VERNON GIVERNY ... PASSIONATELY
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A practical guide for visits At the end of Rue Malot, turn left into Rue de la Boucherie (Butchers' St) : the name recalls that this was where the butchers had their shops in medieval times. Notice the gutter in the middle of the street : imagine it filled with waste and filth and you have a good image of what a medieval street looked like. This gutter can also be connected with a French phrase " tenir le haut du pavé " , literally " walk on the higher part of the paved road " which means " lording it " : People of consequence would walk along the walls i.e. on the higher part of the street, away from the filth, and would let common folk walk in the middle of the street, thus having to wade along in the gutter. At the end of Rue de la Boucherie, one is again in Rue Carnot (Carnot was president of the Republic in the 1890s.) which one takes on the right towards the traffic lights. During the Hundred Years' War, the half-timbered house at the very crossing on the right used to be an inn (Les trois Signots) run by an English innkeeper. Undoubtedly the patrons must have been the English soldiers garrisoned in the castle. Opposite the street, Nr 45 (the clothing shop) was also an inn, l'Ecu de France (the Arms of France) for wealthy people. (Note : the visitors who intend to visit or who have already visited Vieux Moulin (the Old mill) and Château des Tourelles (the Castle of the Turrets) [see the pages dedicated to this site] on the other bank of the river will notice a sign over the gate: it shows the very place where Planter, the miller, was almost hanged in October 1789.) Carnot Street - formerly High Street- is part of the Paris - Rouen road: it used to be the main street of the city and it was lined with numerous inns, almost thirty, because Vernon was where stagecoaches and mail coaches would stop over for the night, half way between Paris and Rouen. Walk to the traffic lights, turn left into Albuféra street, one of the main streets; it is named after the mayor who had the new thoroughfare built in the 1860s. He was the son of Marshal Gabriel Suchet, made Duke of Albuféra by Napoleon I.
On the right, the ruins of Philippe Auguste castle, a part of the walls and particularly the 22-metre high keep called " Tour des Archives " (Archives Tower) : at the end of the 18th century, just when it was about to be demolished, it was decided to use it for storing the town's archives; hence its name. The ruins are now included in a beautiful modern garden, the " Garden of Arts "
King Philippe Auguste (Philip
II) is an important figure in Vernon because he is the one who conquered
the town in 1196 from the Duke of Normandy who was also King of England
and who united it with the kingdom of France. This castle, the former
bridge and Tourelles castle (on the other bank of the river) are remains
of the defence system established by the French to protect the town and
the neighbouring territories that had just been conquered. (Note:
visitors of Château Gaillard in Les Andelys can see the English counter
system for their own defence against the French in Vernon.) To continue the visit, walk back and turn left into Rue d'Albuféra; down this street about 50 m and left again into Rue Potard. This narrow and very old street already existed in the 12th century. Its first part is lined with half-timbered houses (most of which from the 15th century). There, one can clearly realise that medieval people did not live in separate districts. Rich and poor, they all live in the same streets but of course in very different looking houses: a mere glance will show the difference between Nr 12, the house of a wealthy citizen and Nr 4 (at the beginning of the street) which belonged to a very modest craftsman.
More about Vernon's half-timbered houses, here Continue to walk and turn right into the first street from where another group of old houses can be seen, dating from the 15th century (the one at the crossing with an Annunciation carved on the corner pillar) to the 17th century (the houses farther left, erected above beautiful stone bases and with their windows adorned with wrought-iron). Cross the street - this is rue Carnot again- and walk on 10 metres down rue du Pont (Bridge St).
First, if you look back, you will see Archive Tower again rising behind more half-timbered houses. Then on the left you can see the entrance of the City Museum, housed in the half-timbered house at the corner and in the 17thc. Mansion that once belonged to Le Moine de Bellisle.
After this very interesting visit, if one wishes to come back quickly to the starting point, just turn left into Rue Carnot again, towards the traffic lights, and the church and Town Hall are another 100 metres farther. However if you can spare another ten minutes, it is advised to left out of the Museum and walk straight down the little street (Rue du Pont / Bridge St). Follow the pavement and turn right at the end, then cross Rue d'Albuféra, at the very beginning of the river bridge, and walk down to the next traffic lights where you cross the main road towards the Seine. (Careful, heavy traffic and dangerous crossing). On the right, there rises a large 18th century residence, " the Duke of Penthièvre's Pavilion " (the last lord of Vernon). This is where the Duke, who lived in Château de Bizy just outside Vernon, would often come to spend some time to administer the city. The visit ends with this painful evocation. You can now cross again the main road at the lights, walk up Bourbon Penthièvre Street leading to the church. A last glimpse at this old street dominated by the Collegiate church, exhibiting the faded beauty of age-old places, and it is now time walk back to the front of the church, the starting point of this tour.
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