Dreuil-Hamel

Dreuil - Hamel is a ancienne Commune Frenchwoman (in the department of the Somme) now integrated into that of Airaines.

By stopped of the September 26th 1972 (Official journal of the January 3rd 1973) with effect at October 1st 1972, Dreuil-Hamel is attached to Airaines (simple fusion); the code INSEE of Dreuil-Hamel is 80 255 .

Geography

Dreuil-Hamel is a district of Airaines. Located just at the West, this old village forms a prolongation " today of it; logique" , since the habitat is not stopped in the hollow of this small valley, where curves, since Allery, a small river throwing itself in the another, named Airaines . The Secondary Road n° 936 (which one notices the slate needle pointed towards the sky of elegant the Clocher) skirts and goes up this valley, in parallel on the plate, southern part, in direction of Oisemont.

Administration

Although very near to Airaines (Canton of Molliens-Dreuil), Dreuil-Hamel depended on the canton of Hallencourt.

Since the years 1970, Dreuil-Hamel lost its autonomy and taken the statute of simple peripheral district of Airaines.

Demography

The population is " tombée" of half in one century,… remarkable example of Rural migration.

History

June 25th 1514: The priest of Dreuil operates a transaction with family CANESSON (or CANNESSON).
After 1790, the " destin" of the 2 bells of the church (announced in 1688?) is unknown.
1792 : The priest of Dreuil and that of the parish airainoise of Dourier (proche close because in immediate prolongation to the habitat by the East, with the term St-Riquier , and which will be removed 10 years later ) want to share the dîme of a field, at the expense of the Hospital of Airaines.
January 1805: The commune of Dreuil appendix " Hamel" , close hamlet (a little more in the West). The Municipal council decides that the name of the village will be from now on " Dreuil-Hamel".

the same year, blessing of 2 bells new, intended to replace those having disappeared 10 or 15 years before, during the Revolution.

1849 : As in all the communes of France, the major population masculine could, for the first time, outward journey to vote thanks to the introduction of the Vote for all.

Here the distribution (of number) of some patronyms of the voters: (seized nonexhaustive!)

1897
First World War: The village had to pay, compared to other of the same localities cuts, a rather heavy tribute, since 26 of its " enfants" were then sacrificed for the Patrie. Here is the list drawn up starting from the plate which was fixed inside the church and which was photographed after 1991 by one of the members of the Association of Safeguard of the church (1re mouture).

Until the Inter-war period, the large majority of the inhabitants had only low-incomes. With share a farm (which, old manor, was a long time only), and the " Coffee of the Pont-Neuf " (today disappeared and located where the " was built; Town hall-École"), the local activity was summarized with the culture of small small holdings. Resources of these " domestic " inhabitant of fort modest houses could not be enough. Good number of them supplemented their incomes by a work on their Weaving loom. Their production of rollers of fabric of Jute was delivered to the factories of the close village, Allery.
1940 : Destruction of most of the village.
November 26th 1948
September 15th 1965
February 22nd 1972
1982

Places and monuments

Church

Old sights

The church with the elegant Bell-tower, dominating a very green environment, was private of its pertaining to worship functions following the fusion of the commune with Airaines. This closing down contributed to an acceleration of its degradation, since the years 1975.

Associative starts

Practically 2 decades later, an small group of inhabitants, anxious to preserve their inheritance, was organized in association which was officially declared on May 3rd 1991 for " to safeguard the church of Dreuil-Hamel, like place of cultural events and " to consider its " partial reopening with the worship " at the time of " certain religious ceremonies " , such as " marriages and burials ".

Le head office was with the Town hall of Airaines, and the persons in charge had as names Claude DELBARRE (president), Marie-Louise SAVET (trésorière), Josette VINCENT (secretary) and Marcel LENEL (assistant secretary).

The human risks, municipal alternations and the local economic difficulties (successive closing several companies airainoises) did not allow obtaining the required assistances, so that little by little association sank in the discouragement and the " sommeil". Conscious of the close danger (after report of the dilapidation of the provisional filling of the roof carried out a few years earlier), a small core of neighbors of the building was then mobilized to reconstitute or reanimate l'" Association for the safeguard of the church of Dreuil-Hamel".

If the head office remains the same one, the goal is slightly refined by it: " Given in state of the church of Dreuil-Hamel, restoration of the cover and the carcass work heavy castings at cultural ends (center of exposures of paintings, sculptures), installation partial of a bibliothèque" " " , and on May 8th 2005 a new team is declared in prefecture: Albert NOBILITY (president), Madeleine MOMY (trésorière), Francoise GEBOES (secretary), Robert POIRET (assistant secretary).

This new attempt to preserve this " witness of pierre" will local architectural heritage succeed? Some pretty houses have just emerged in the vicinity immediate (benefitting and contributing the approval of the site), but the things hardly seemed to have " bougé" (little shared awakening, even non-existent rare subsidies, not started work… thus imminent catastrophe!), until one of the calls to financial aid (subsidies) received, finally, a favorable reception, 11 months month after the " renaissance" association.

After multiple contacts made at the local, departmental and regional level, not less than 7 request files of subsidies was lodged with: the Town hall of Airaines, the DRAC, the architect of the Building industries of France with Amiens (David FOUCAMBERT), the Foundation of the Inheritance (with Compiegne), Safeguard of French Art (Paris-9th), the Foundation Maxime GOURY-LAFFONT (Paris-17th), the weekly magazine of the catholic press group Bayard-Press (Pilgrim).

The file, presented in competition with very many other projects, one of the 12 is retained for the year 2005 by " Pilgrim " (and its partner, the radio " France-Information "), which recently on the spot sent a small team to carry out a small film-report, and delegated displacement in Paris of 3 association justified.

The building is, within sight of its state in April 2006 , très seriously menacé… but remains the hope that the most urgent work mentioned on the estimates can start before the return of the bad season.

the bell-tower is amputee of its point and of its cock, the roof is bored in very many places, the frame suffered much, the panes (and stained glasses) all were almost broken by vandals, the walls are cracks, the devastated interior, reversed or dislocated furniture and the plundered sacristy!