Bray-on-Nap

Bray-on-Nap is a common French, located in the department of the Somme and the area Picardy.

Geography

The commune is surrounded by hills in the east and the west. To the south, the marshes are crossed by the Somme. The village was a strategic site during the centuries thanks to the passage between Artois and Picardy by four fords.

Administration

Demography

History

Armorial bearings

Blue escutcheon decorated azure of three flowers of gold lily.

Etymology

Bray would be a Celtic toponym of origin meaning “muddy ground”, “marsh”. Braium would be attested since approximately 630.

Development of the city

If, in 630, Braium belonged to the field of the abbey of “Centule” (which will take the name of Saint-Riquier), the Gallic establishment and the Roman occupation were confirmed by various weapons, objects, currencies found at the time of archaeological excavations.

In 868, under the reign of Charles '' the Bald person '', a fortress controlled there already this part of the Sum upstream of Corbie and Amiens.

After repurchase by Hugues Capet with the Ingelard abbot, the borough was attached to the châtellenie Péronne.

Having belonged sometimes to Péronne sometimes with the counts de Vermandois, the stronghold was acquired, in 1210, by the king of France, Philippe Auguste, who granted a “ communal charter to him ”.

The borough with the the Middle Ages

The city was strengthened in the West and North by deep ramparts and ditches. To the East, a ground slope, surrounded by marsh and surmounted of a palisade out of wooden, skirted “ Catiches ”, river being thrown in the river of Arleux and crossing in length the south of Bray to the port of Gayette . At each entry of the city, a door with two turns was, of the machicolations and a harrow as well as a bridge to be crossed. These doors were four:

Door of Corbie , in the west
Door of Ink , in north towards Albert
Door of Hurel , in the east towards Cappy
Door of Wiquet , a simple postern

Bray had a strong castle, in the street of the Manor house. On other bank of the Sum, one could see a drawbridge, a door with his two turns. There existed on the Sum another drawbridge.

Chronology of violence

October 1359: resistance of the local garrison to the attack of the duke of Lancaster. July 1373: the duke of Warwick, pushed back, was avenged by setting fire to Cappy. 1378: attacks of the duke of Buckingham. June 1472: Charles Bold the reduced the city in ruins. 1423: The flayers devastated the suburbs of the city. November 1522: sit of the English and the German ones who plundered, set fire to the city and massacred the population. The street of the Massacres carries since the memory of this tragedy. September 1536: the count de Roeux set fire to the city. 1553: ransack city by Adrien de Croy. 1595: attack of the count de Fuentès. July 1636: the Spaniards threatened the city by drawing 600 blows from gun. August 4th, 1636: attacks Spaniards, ordered by Jean De Werth. 1649: the walls were destroyed, the city was again set fire to by the Spaniards, a bell was carried. April 12th, 1653: at the time of the attack of prince de Condé, the door of Ink was destroyed then the borough itself. April 30th, 1653: the church, the other doors, the strong castle were destroyed in their turn. The city loses any important strategic value then.

More prosperous episodes

1598: Bray enjoys one period of economic recovery, one intensified the culture of the vine there. 1680: Louis XIV was of passage to Bray with his court. 1793: a large bridge was built on the Sum.

First World War

In 1914, the German army, arrived at Bray by the road of Proyart, moved towards Amiens. In the first months, the commune does not undergo any damage and did not have to suffer that from a requisition of the carriages. After the bombardment of Albert on September 28th, by the Germans, and his evacuation on October 4th, 1914, the face was stabilized around Bray-on-Nap, in an arc of circle consisted Fricourt, Carnoy, Curlu, Frise, Herbécourt, Dompierre-Becquincourt. Bray had the very important function, 28 months during, of center of supply and rest.

In February 1915, the stained glasses and the tower of the bell-tower were damaged by German shells fallen close to the church. The casualties of the face were neat in a great quartering arranged in the locality.

The 329e regiment of Le Havre, made up reservists, having remained in Bray one year (to organize the first distinct ones, forts, like various operations), lost 2086 of its soldiers. A commemorative plaque, affixed in the Saint Nicolas's Day church, testifies to their actions.

In 1916, the Franco-British armies prepared the offensive and store various ammunition, weapons and materials.

July 1st, 1916 with 7:30, the battle of the Sum was launched and inflicted until November 1916 of heavy losses to the German army, which had to move back.

In spring 1918, the Germans, wanting to reconquer ground while launching attacks on Fibula and Saint-Quentin, passed in force the Sum on April 25th, 1918. Bray-on-nap was evacuated.

After the signature with Doullens of the single command and the General nomination Foch like single chief of the allies, Bray was released on August 12th, 1918, after hard combat in the valley of the Sum and with the assistance of the Australian ones.

For its four years of tests, the borough is lived to allot by the minister André Lefèvre, on October 27th, 1920, the Military Cross with mention in dispatches.

The rebuilding of Bray took many years.

Second world war

After the general mobilization of 1939, and makes an attempt it very long “funny of war ”, the Germans tackled on May 10th of the following year, abruptly, crossed the Meuse, wanting to reach the Sum and to cut the retirement of the allies stationed in Belgium. The General Gamelin ordered with divisions to go on the Sum to prohibit their passage.

Furious combat were held in the villages close to Chuignolles, Proyart, Méricourt-on-Nap. So much out of German soldiers were killed and if “the Sum”, around Bray, could hold several days, the locality undergoes the occupation four years during, as the remainder of the country. Some German troops remained in Bray. At the end of 1943, began resistance vis-a-vis the occupant and, after the unloading of the allies, on June 6th, 1944, in Normandy, all went very quickly, since on September 1st, Bray-on-Nap was released by the American army.

Places and monuments

Historical museum

This museum, located at the entry basement of the town hall, recalls the life and the history of the city and its surroundings through the centuries, of the Celtic time at our days.

Part of the exposure is devoted to the Great War . One can see there the model of the German gun installed on the territory of Chuignes in 1918.

One of curiosities of this exposure is undoubtedly the reconstitution by means of models, of the last battle delivered in the area by Manfred von Richthofen known as “ the Baron Rouge ” and of its flotilla called “ the Circus Stealing ”.

Saint Nicolas's Day church

Stone the building of the country (calcareous yellow and to tend), high on the ruins of old a moutier builds by the monks of Saint-Riquier, was associated with the most tragic hours which the history of the city knew “ brayonne ”. This church, built partly during the transition between the Romance style and the Gothic style (at the 12th century) underwent many transformations. The Gothic style blazing (16th century) is Net: large windows, absence of capital in top of the columns. The two spans are 16th century. The massive bell-tower of the 18th century was completed in 1745, and rises with 35 meters height. This Saint Nicolas's Day church, classified historic building on April 2nd, 1908, has 38 m of length and 18 m broad, with 14 m in height for the vault of the chorus and 11 m for that of the nave.

The chorus, classified by Beautiful arts, has three superimposed stages: the first presents a Romance blind blind arcade, the second is slightly Gothic, 3rd with the shape of very accentuated lancets as well as the final vault and the windows.

Primitive furniture having escaped with the vandalism of 1793, there remains of interesting only the confessional and the pulpit, behind the pillar of which a low relief represents a salamander: emblem of François 1st.

Laundrettes

Bray has two more laundrettes of the 18th century, always accessible to the public. They are locatable by their low roof of red tiles and a small staircase going down since the pavement. That close to the municipal camp-site is announced by a panel of presentation, the other street Pierre-Curie, on the line when one moves away from the town hall, is less better indicated to the tourists, who are invited (since the place of Freedom) to follow the direction of an arrow, without knowing until where.

Ponds

The valley of the High-Nap, water area, is the paradise of the fishermen. Various fish species can be fished: pike, pike perch, Bremen, carp, gardon, etc without forgetting famous eel.

Peat bogs

The Tourbe is a fossile fuel noirâtre, consisted porous, light a fiber felting, provided by reeds, snap rings, laiches, carex and other species of the marshes with very clear water and moderate climate and still of other vegetable matters such as the sphaignes (watery foams). The peat was used as manure, fuel and also litter for the horses.

The extraction of the peat goes back to the 18th century to mitigate the lack of fuel because of the clearings.

The production was done in several stages:

location of the peat benches thanks to a kind of shovel fixed at the end of a 1,10 m length handle, then extraction by action leverage
deposit on the bank and cutting up in ingots
drying (if it misses consistency), or crushing: work completed by the women

Personalities related to the commune

See too

Common of the Sum

Notes, references and sources

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