Gournay-en-Bray

Gournay-en-Bray
Gournay-en-Bray
Location within Upper Normandy region Gournay-en-Bray
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Seine-Maritime
Arrondissement	Dieppe
Canton	Gournay-en-Bray
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Canton de Gournay-en-Bray
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Lou Pain
Area1	10.4 km2 (4.0 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	6,320
• Density	610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	76312 / 76220
Elevation	84–133 m (276–436 ft) (avg. 94 m or 308 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Gournay-en-Bray is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in north-western France.

Geography

A town of farming and light industry, it is situated in the Pays de Bray, some 50 km (31 mi) east of Rouen, at the junction of the N 31, the D 915 and the D 930 roads.
The commune’s territory includes three former parish hamlets, near the confluence of the Epte with three other smaller rivers – the Morette, Auchy and Aulnaie.

Population

Historical population of Gournay-en-Bray

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
Population	5048	5791	6430	6344	6147	6275	6320
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Heraldry

The arms of Gournay-en-Bray are blazoned: Sable, an armed knight contourny maintaining in his right hand a lance argent, and in chief a fleur-de-lys Or. The traditional armoury of the Counts of Gournay seems to have been Sable simple (a pure black shield with nothing on it), hence the sable field here.

Places of interest

• The Collegiate Church of Saint-Hildevert, built in the 12th century, is famous for its Roman capitals, ornate decoration and its ancient religious sculptures.
• Vestiges of a 17th-century priory, now a farm
• Ruins of a 12th-century Capuchin monastery
• The chapel at the hamlet of Saint-Clair, built in 1829
• A memorial fountain of the 18th century
• The town gates and fortifications, dating from the 13th century
• Traces of 10th-century fortifications
• The 16th-century church of Saint-Jean-Batiste

International relations

• Hailsham, England

Gournay-en-Bray is twinned with Hailsham in the English County of East Sussex. Hailsham has a much larger population (circa 20,500 compared to Gournay-en-Bray's circa 6,500) but, according to Hailsham Town Council, "the features and facilities of both towns are quite similar". A Twinning Charter was signed in Hailsham in October 2000 and in Gournay-en-Bray in February 2001, and renewed in both towns on its 10th anniversary.

See also

• Communes of the Seine-Maritime department
• Seine-Maritime
• Normandy

References

• INSEE

External links

• Gournay-en-Bray official website (French)
• Office of tourism in Gournay-en-Bray (French)
• Gournay-en-Bray on the Quid website (French)