Bec-de-Mortagne

Bec-de-Mortagne
Bec-de-Mortagne
Location within Upper Normandy region Bec-de-Mortagne
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Seine-Maritime
Arrondissement	Le Havre
Canton	Goderville
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Pascal Mabire
Area1	11.94 km2 (4.61 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	375
• Density	31/km2 (81/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	76068 / 76110
Elevation	32–135 m (105–443 ft) (avg. 50 m or 160 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.

Bec-de-Mortagne is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.

Geography

A farming village situated in the wooded valley of the river Ganzeville, in the Pays de Caux, some 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Le Havre, at the junction of the D69 and the D28.

History

The name comes from ‘’Becr’’, a Norse word for stream, together with the name of the Mortagne family, seigneurs of the village.

Bec-de-Mortagne in the Pays de Caux is thought to be the birth-place of Turstin FitzRolf, standard bearer to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, as he was described by the 12th-century chronicler Orderic Vitalis as from "Bec-en-Caux".

Around 1175, Guillaume de Mortagne gave the parish church to the Archbishop of Rouen, ( Willelmi Becco of Moritania) who gave it to the chapter after his death, stipulating that the priest should have a third of the tithes and the canon two-thirds.

A knight, Henri de Soteville, sought possession of the church. He was excommunicated, but having later submitted, the excommunication was lifted.

In the 13th century, Bec-Moreteigne had 500 inhabitants and the parish priest was paid 15 pounds .

The year 1562 saw the formal civil status of Bec de Mortagne granted and in 1824 it was joined with the former parish of Baigneville to form the present commune.

Population

Historical population of Bec-de-Mortagne

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
Population	534	569	525	555	576	615	675
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Places of interest

• The church of St.Martin, dating from the 11th century.
• Traces of a medieval castle.
• An 18th-century presbytery

See also

• Communes of the Seine-Maritime department

References

• INSEE

External links

• Bec-de-Mortagne on the Quid website (French)