Circuit of renowned persons and industries (4km, 1h30 )

Circuit of renowned persons and industries (4km, 1h30 )
1.The statue of Paul Deschanel was erected in 1926 and replaced the Big Fountain which was fed by part of
the water from the river l’Arcisses dug out by the monks of Saint Denis in 12 th century. Paul
Deschanel was born near Brussels in 1855 and died in Paris in 1922. He was elected deputy 6
times for the Eure et Loir and then for the district of Nogent le Rotrou, from 1885 to 1920, and
became President of the Republic (under the third Republic). He fell from a train near Montargis during the night of May 23-24 1920.
The Town Hall: The actual Town Hall is situated on the site of the
old grain market built in 1533. In 1857 the decision was taken to built
a new hall comprising the Town Hall and Law Court. The existing
entrance to the Town Hall, inaugurated in 1989, was formerly the
Café de la Comédie. The Town Hall also has a very attractive room
on the second floor for civil wedding ceremonies, decorated with Aubusson tapestries.
Rue de la Charonnerie: is now the rue Villette Gaté from the name of Henri Villette Gaté, mayor of Nogent
from 1925 to 1936. The inhabitants at this period were mainly wheelwrights and other iron-making trades
and afterwards numerous garage owners. The headquarters of the Percheron Horse Society was formerly
situated at the corner of the rue Doullay (the head office is now at rue Rémy Belleau) In 1883, the regional horse breeders created the Percheron Horse Society of France. The aim of this society was to guarantee
the reputation of horse breeding in the Perche. The institution of the Percheron Stud-Book, initiated by
Charles Aveline, enabled the curbing of unscrupulous horse dealers, the protection of the breed, and the
preservation of the market.
In the middle of the 19th century the farm of de la Touche, situated on the high ground overlooking Nogent,
was converted into a large domain specializing in the breeding and rearing of Percheron horses. This enterprise was renowned for the quality of its Percheron stallions which attracted buyers from America,
Russia, Japan etc… There are still numerous award winning plaques to be seen fixed to the wall. Percheron horses were used by the Omnibus Company of Paris, and the Aubry Transport Company, at the beginning of 1900, had 40 horses for heavy and light transport. There are some attractive Art Déco façades at
numbers 22 and 29 of the rue Villette Gaté and at number 39 you can admire the façade of the Hôtel du
Dauphin which is an old coaching inn of 17th century.
2.Rue Giroust: Jacques Charles Giroust was born in this street in 1749. Ha was a lawyer and deputy of the
Eure et Loir. It is thanks to him that the town of Nogent le Rotrou is part of the Eure et Loir department.
Rue de Ruet: The water mills of the streams fed by l’Arcisses and the Val de Roquet already existed during 12th century for fulling. In 1224, these water mills were given to the abbey of des Clairets (commune
of Souancé au Perche) for the sharpening of knives and various other uses. Towards 1905, a new industry
was created at Nogent by the Magnan Brothers who were born in the town-the manufacture of automatic
pianos. At this particular time, all the social establishments owned or rented a mechanical or automatic
piano which worked by inserting a coin and giving a few turns of a starting handle. The factory was situated in the mill near the road. Each of the 3 water mills had a paddle wheel activated by a waterfall 13.5
meters high. The company was wound up in November 1921. At the bottom of the rue des Ruisseaux, the
attractive pepper-box turret is a reminder that, in 1576, the guards of Catherine de Médicis bivouaced at
the hotel of the “Soleil d’Or”. They wore the emblem of the sun on their breastplates and the hotel kept
the name. In 1790, the hostelry was used as a barracks. The watchtower on the rue des Ruisseaux side
was situated in the rue Giroust before this street was widened in 1953.
3.Rue des Viennes: Descending from the Perchet woods, the stream of the Val Roquet, swelled by the river
d’Arcisses, flows along this path which became a street. There were several public washing-places along
les Viennes.
4.Rue Saint Hilaire: La Caisse d’Epargne (Savings Bank) of Nogent was inaugurated in 1898: a handsome
building in the Renaissance style with dormer windows adorned with the Perche coat of arms. The rue
Rémy Belleau was formerly called the rue aux Coffres and indicated a quality of muslin which was specific to Nogent. It was opposite la Banque de France (now la Banque Populaire) with a brick façade and
its allegorical statues representing Industry and Commerce. Rémy Belleau, poet of la Pléiade, was born in
1528 rue Saint Lazare, Nogent le Rotrou, but the house where he was born was destroyed during the Second World War.
5.Clos Couronnet: This piece of land belonged to Mister Couronnet who was the last muslin producer
of Nogent.
6.Rue des Viennes: Nogent was a favourable site for the setting up of tanneries with an abundance of
streams and waterways. There were still 4 tanneries working during 19th century. The biggest was
the Gate tannery founded by the husband Gate-Richard on the banks of the river Ronne. When the
parents died their two children, Camille and Marie (Marie Married Henri Villette, foreman of the
company) took over the management of the tannery and set up the factory at the Messesselle and at
54 rue Saint Hilaire (bordered by les Viennes, one can still see the dryers). Camille devoted himself
to sculpture (his works can be seen in the public gardens, avenue Camille Gate and the castle museum of Nogent). After his death in 1900, Henri Villette Gaté became sole director and was succeeded
by his son Pierre. Specializing in the manufacture of sole leather, the last tannery of the Eure et Loir
closed 31st December 1959.
7.Le Pont de l’Huisne rue Saint Hilaire: Before the railway was constructed, a path
went past on the other side of the church of Saint Hilaire and was restricted to pedestrians. Horse-drawn transport forded the river. The bridge was destroyed during
the flood of 1579 and was only rebuilt in 1672. The river Huisne flowing under the
bridge has its source in the department of l’Orne and, after a course of 120 kms,
flows into the Sarthe at Le Mans. It also symbolizes the border between the diocese
of Sées and Chartres.
8.Square Louis Moulin. Painter born and bred in Nogent (1817-1876), he did some very good paintings of our town’s various localities and monuments. He was employed by the newspaper
“l’illustration” in 1849 and sketched battle scenes of the French army in action during the war of
1870.
9.Rue Sainte Anne: The old factory of Tirard Brothers manufactured slippers, hats and felt.
In 1870 the Tirard Brothers started in the rue Sainte Anne near the river and the railway. After
the war, the wearing of hats greatly diminished and this led to the decline and eventual closure
of the factory in 1956. 350 persons were employed (700 in 1922). The brick bell-tower still remains and is now used as a water tower. There were 400 production machines on a site covering a surface area of 40.000m2.
10.Nogent Railway Station. The section of railway La Loupe/Nogent was inaugurated in 1854. On the
other side of the railway lines one can see the old advertising sign of the Gaté tanneries who dug an
aqueduct under the rails and which went along the rue Saint Hilaire to evacuate the liquid waste
from the tannery. In 1887 the train Nogent/Arrou/Patay (in the Loiret department) passed through
the rue Croix la Comtesse, and a bridge over l’Huisne opened onto the rue Henri Dunant. From
1908 to 1934 a tramway operated linking Nogent le Rotrou to Brou. It passed through the streets of
St Hilaire, Tochon, Mauté Lelasseux and Docteur Desplantes before leaving the town. The tramway
station was situated on the Esplanade where the music school is now (since 1943).
11.Ruelle Grandin: During 11th century, the Abbey des Clairets possessed 8 water mills including the
mills of Moulins des Près on the island of Grandin which were used for fulling sheets and subsequently for milling grain and sharpening. The mills of Sire Grandin in 19th century were used to operate a sawmill. At the end of this alleyway, on the left, you will see the traces of a butter-making
activity which also housed an ice container.
12.La Place du 11 août 1944, in times past it was a fairground and an important livestock market. The
date of 11th august 1944 evokes the liberation of Nogent by the resistance fighters from the maquis
of Plainville at Marolles les Buis.
13.Place Saint Pol: In 1857, a bronze statue in the effigy of the General Count Jules de Saint Pol
(descendant of an old family of the region) was placed in the square which bears his name but, in
1941, the Germans removed it and melted it down. He was killed in the Crimean war in 1855 and
buried there (now Ukraine). In 1866, Louis Habert created a business selling haberdashery and
shoes. He was also a wholesaler and supplied retailers in the Percheron villages as well as the regions of the Rhône-Alpes, Provence and Brittany. In 1937, his son opened a factory specializing in
the manufacture of slippers until his retirement in 1969. There was also in this old market place the
coaching inn, the “A la Glaneuse” and “Au Bon Marché” haberdasheries and various clothing
shops.
Rue des
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Rue des viennes
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Rue St Hilai
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Rue abb
Rue de la
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Rue Vil
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Rue Paul Deschanel
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