Le Bec-Hellouin

Le Bec-Hellouin (French pronunciation: [lə bɛk ɛlwɛ̃]) is a commune in the department of Eure in the Normandy region in northern France.

Le Bec-Hellouin
Commune
Houses in Le Bec-Hellouin
Coat of arms
Location of Le Bec-Hellouin
Le Bec-Hellouin Le Bec-Hellouin
Coordinates: 49°13′57″N 0°43′18″E
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Eure
Arrondissement	Bernay
Canton	Brionne
Intercommunality	Bernay Terres de Normandie
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pascal Finet
Area 1	9.55 km2 (3.69 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	390
• Density	41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	27052 /27800
Elevation	46–141 m (151–463 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is best known for Bec Abbey and has recently been voted one of the "most beautiful villages of France". The current mayor is Pascal Finet who replaced Jean-Paul Vittecoq in 2014.

Geography

The commune along with another 69 communes shares part of a 4,747 hectare, Natura 2000 conservation area, called Risle, Guiel, Charentonne.

History

Bec Abbey was founded in 1034 by Herluin, who was a knight at the court of Brionne and a Benedictine. Near to the abbey, in the village, the church, dedicated to Saint-André, was built in 1039. The original church burned down in 1264. It was rebuilt but damaged during the Hundred Years' War (1417). The nave and the bell tower were reconstructed in the 18th century.

In 1791 the abbey was closed because of the French Revolution and the departing monks transferred many statues to the village church; even the tomb of Herluin was moved to the church in 1792. From 1792 to 1794 bells and valuable decorative objects were removed from the church and finally brought to Bernay.

The windows of the church were destroyed during the bombing of Le Bec-Hellouin on 13 August 1944, in the course of World War II. The new windows were made in 1959. The Benedictine monks returned in 1948 and the tomb of Herluin was moved back to the abbey in 1959.

Etymology

Known as Beccensis Ecclesia in 1041 and in Beccus Herlevini 1160. The village takes its name from the Scandinavian word for creek mouth (bekkr). While Hellouin refers to Blessed Herluin, founder of the nearby abbey. whose name is of Germanic origin.

Notable people

Arnost, bishop of Rochester, England, 1076

Landmarks

• Abbey of Bec-Hellouin.
• Monastery of Saint Francesca Romana
• St. Andrew's Church
• The village has a set of typical half-timbered houses, grouped around the Abbey Our Lady of Bec.

• 
  Map of Le Bec-Hellouin
• 
  Town hall
• 
  Rue du Quartier Burcy in the village of Le Bec-Hellouin
• 
  Half-timbered houses
• 
  Church of St Andrews
• 
  Church of St Andrews from the east
• 
  Church in abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec
• 
  Bec Abbey
• 
  Bec Abbey
• 
  West side of the Tour Saint-Nicolas, between the ancient pottery to its left and the monks' residential building to its right
• 
  Southern façade of the abbey
• 
  The cloister
• 
  Bec Abbey Library

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 710 —     1800 650 −1.25% 1806 546 −2.86% 1821 650 +1.17% 1831 745 +1.37% 1836 680 −1.81% 1841 708 +0.81% 1846 640 −2.00% 1851 680 +1.22% 1856 580 −3.13% 1861 610 +1.01% 1866 727 +3.57% 1872 647 −1.92% 1876 604 −1.70% 1881 686 +2.58% 1886 581 −3.27% 1891 600 +0.65% 1896 563 −1.26%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 490 −2.74% 1906 534 +1.73% 1911 401 −5.57% 1921 438 +0.89% 1926 429 −0.41% 1931 436 +0.32% 1936 402 −1.61% 1946 338 −1.72% 1954 450 +3.64% 1962 465 +0.41% 1968 566 +3.33% 1975 439 −3.56% 1982 470 +0.98% 1990 434 −0.99% 1999 406 −0.74% 2007 414 +0.24% 2012 420 +0.29% 2017 396 −1.17%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Further reading

• Dannenberg, Linda; Pierre Levec; Pierre Moulin (1989). Pierre Deux's Normandy. Oxford: Phaidon Press. pp. 56–61. ISBN 0-7148-2576-X.

See also

• Communes of the Eure department

References

Vallée du Bec.

External links

• Official site
• Site for Bec Abbey