Saint-Arnoult-of-wood

Saint-Arnoult-of-Wood is a common French, located in the department of Eure-et-Loir and the area Center.

Geography

History

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

the Channel of the Eure

2 arches marking the way followed by the channel are visible on the commune of Saint-Arnoult-of-Wood:

with the locality " Brosseron"
with " the arch with mullet": located at the west of Brosseron, the vestiges of the earth fills directs you towards " Genetière" then on the left on the way of the " Wood biquet".

following information is drawn from the work of Mr. Armand Pelé entitled Courville, Essais historical, published in the Monographies collection of the cities and villages of France.

“In the west, in the direction of Chuisnes and Pontgouin, in north, beside Saint-Arnoult-of-wood and of Fountain-the-Guyon, one notices in the surroundings of Courville the traces of old channel which the popular tradition still calls “the new river”: it is the old aqueduct of Maintenon or channel of Louis XIV.

It is known that the large king, wishing to get running water with the gardens of the castle and the town of Versailles, conceived the project to seize the course of the the Eure in Pontgouin, and this by means of a vast stopping of masonry (…) of a height from 12 to 15 meters, hermetically closing the valley from one hill to another; this stopping, stopping on this point the volume of water, was to force it to bring it in a channel dug beside the river.

Under the direction of Vauban and Hire, work began in 1684 and was thorough with activity: workmen of which a third of masons and diggers, and two other thirds of soldiers (…) worked with this gigantic company.

On all the line of the works, whole regiments came to confine during 3 or 4 years; in Pontgouin, in Chuisnes, Courville of the camps were established.

“The company, says Mr. de Noailles, was so quickly led that in less than one year the channel since Pontgouin until Berchères was established and that on August 25th, 1685, the academy was transported there in the person of Hire, Cassini, Sédileau and several members, to attend the entry in the channel which was to take place, like test, this same day. The test succeeds completely, and water arrived without obstacle of Pontgouin at Berchères”.

A few days after, on September 5th, 1685, the king Louis XIV itself came in Courville to examine the company (…).

during the duration of the work, the diseases which decimated the troops, then the war which burst with end of the year 1688 made give up this imposing project (…) ”.

Personalities related to the commune

See too

Common of Eure-et-Loir

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