The surprising battle of St-Cyr-de-Bailleul, in 1906

- April 28, 2018April 25, 2018

In the south of Normandy, deep in the countryside near the border with Mayenne, is a tiny village called St-Cyr-de-Bailleul. Here a few hundred souls live around a small unremarkable church. History has little to report here as perhaps it takes a lot to rouse these hard-working country folk from

The secret in the tower at Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët

Art
Manche

- April 6, 2015May 7, 2024

There is a secret in the old tower at Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët. It was put there by an artist so remarkable she earned her own wiki page, but the secret in the tower is not mentioned amongst her many achievements. First this odd old tower. Our vintage postcard looked intriguing; what could need

The mad hatters of Caudebec-en-Caux

- January 24, 2015September 24, 2016

Matching a vintage postcard view of a Normandy town when 80% of it was destroyed in WW2 is tricky. Pretty little streams like the one in our picture still tumble through Caudebec-en-Caux but the streets are unrecognisable. Smooth clean lines have replaced medieval clutter and ancient brooks now rush along neat