Le Bec-Hellouin

{{Infobox French commune

|name = Le Bec-Hellouin

|commune status = Commune

|image = Le village.jpg

|caption = Houses in Le Bec-Hellouin

|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Le Bec-Hellouin (Eure).svg

|arrondissement = Bernay

|canton = Brionne

|INSEE = 27052

|postal code = 27800

|mayor = Pascal Finet{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=13 September 2022|language=fr}}

|term = 2020–2026

|intercommunality = Bernay Terres de Normandie

|coordinates = {{coord|49.2325|0.7217|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

|elevation m =

|elevation min m = 46

|elevation max m = 141

|area km2 = 9.55

|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}

|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}

|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}

}}

Le Bec-Hellouin ({{IPA|fr|lə bɛk ɛlwɛ̃}}) is a commune in the department of Eure in the Normandy region in northern France.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://inpn.mnhn.fr/site/natura2000/FR2300150|title=INPN - FSD Natura 2000 - FR2300150 - Risle, Guiel, Charentonne - Description}}

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.

File:Normandie Eure Bec1.jpg

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.Toponymie générale de la France, Volume 2, Ernest Nègre page 1011. whose name is of Germanic origin.François de Beaurepaire (préf. Marcel Baudot), Les Noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de l'Eure, (Paris, A. et J. Picard, 1981), p.221.

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.

File:Map commune FR insee code 27052.png|Map of Le Bec-Hellouin

File:Mairie Le Bec-Hellouin.jpg|Town hall

File:La villa de Le Bec-Hellouin en 2018.jpg|Rue du Quartier Burcy in the village of Le Bec-Hellouin

File:Le_Bec-Hellouin_R06.jpg|Half-timbered houses

File:Église Saint-André le Bec-Hellouin.jpg|Church of St Andrews

File:Le_Bec-Hellouin_Eglise_StAndré_R01.jpg|Church of St Andrews from the east

File:Eglise de l'abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec-DSC.jpg|Church in abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec

File:AbbayeduBec-arbres.jpg|Bec Abbey

File:Abbaye_Notre-Dame_du_Bec_R01.jpg|Bec Abbey

File:Abbaye du Bec - Tour S Nicolas.jpg|West side of the Tour Saint-Nicolas, between the ancient pottery to its left and the monks' residential building to its right

File:Abbaye du Bec-Hellouin - Pano façade sud.jpg|Southern façade of the abbey

File:Abbaye du Bec-Hellouin - Le cloître.jpg|The cloister

File:Abbaye du Bec-Hellouin - Bibliothèque.jpg|Bec Abbey Library

Population

{{Historical populations

| align = none

| cols = 2

| percentages = pagr

| source = EHESS{{Cassini-Ehess|3378|Le Bec-Hellouin}} and INSEE (1968-2017)[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-27052#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE

| graph-pos = bottom

|1793 | 710

|1800 | 650

|1806 | 546

|1821 | 650

|1831 | 745

|1836 | 680

|1841 | 708

|1846 | 640

|1851 | 680

|1856 | 580

|1861 | 610

|1866 | 727

|1872 | 647

|1876 | 604

|1881 | 686

|1886 | 581

|1891 | 600

|1896 | 563

|1901 | 490

|1906 | 534

|1911 | 401

|1921 | 438

|1926 | 429

|1931 | 436

|1936 | 402

|1946 | 338

|1954 | 450

|1962 | 465

|1968 | 566

|1975 | 439

|1982 | 470

|1990 | 434

|1999 | 406

|2007 | 414

|2012 | 420

|2017 | 396

}}

References

File:Vallée du Bec.JPG

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20090925082714/http://www.lebechellouin.fr/ Official site]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050709075346/http://www.abbayedubec.com/ Site for Bec Abbey]

Category:Communes of Eure

Category:Plus Beaux Villages de France