Amblie () is a former

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of northwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune

Ponts sur Seulles Ponts sur Seulles (, literally ''Bridges on Seulles'') is a commune in the department of Calvados, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Lantheuil (the seat), Amblie and Tiercev ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ambliais'' or ''Ambliaises'', alternatively ''Ambligeois'' or ''Ambligeoises''

Geography

Amblie is located some 17 km north-west of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

, and 5 km from the beaches of the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is located in the middle of two valleys, those of the Thue and the Seulles, not far from the plain of Caen. It can be accessed by the D22 road from Caen which passes through the south of the commune and continues to

Creully Creully () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Creully sur Seulles. The town square is named after Canadian Lieutenant Bill McCormic ...

. Access to the village is by the D35 road from

Reviers Reviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region, in northwestern France. It lies 4 km south of C ...

in the north-east passing through the village and continuing south-west to Saint-Gabriel-Brecy. Apart from the village there are also the hamlets of Le Bout de Haut and Les Planches. Apart from a patch of forest in the west and small patches of forest at scattered points, the commune is entirely farmland.Google Maps
/ref> The ''Seulles'' river forms the northern border of the commune flowing east then north to join the sea at

Courseulles-sur-Mer Courseulles-sur-Mer (, ), commonly known as ''Courseulles'', is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Until 1957, the town's name was simply ''Courseulles''. It lies 3 km west of Bernières-sur-Mer and 18 ...

. The ''Thue'' river flows from the south through the village to join the Seulles. The commune's floodplain (meadows and marshes), its light hillsides, and its agricultural plain provide it with rich agricultural production. Amblie

Toponymy

The origin of the name may be from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Amblia'' derived from ''Ambo Amnes'' meaning "two rivers".

History

The origins of this small village, situated on the road of mills, are uncertain. The presence of man is old, however, as evidenced by human traces dating back to antiquity. For several centuries, the territory was attached to French nobility through two families, notable members of which were ''Achard de Bonvouloir'' and the Count of ''Buisson de Courson''. The textile industry developed in the 19th century employing mostly women. The

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

s established along the Thue operated until 1945 and treated threads for textiles as well as grain. The village, like many others, suffered severely from depopulation from the beginning of the 20th century. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Belgian farmers settled in the territory. Spared during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, even though it was very close to the landing beaches, the village assisted Caen by establishing a refugee centre for thousands of wounded victims. Integrated into the sphere of influence of Caen, the commune again suffered a rural exodus to the big city. On 29 June 1944 the

Canadian Red Ensign The Canadian Red Ensign (french: Enseigne Rouge Canadienne ) served as a nautical flag and civil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as the ''de facto'' flag of Canada before 1965. The flag is a British red ensign, with the Royal Un ...

flew over the headquarters of the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

near Amblie. For the first time in history the Canadian Armed Forces were fighting under their own colours. This ceremony is depicted at the

Juno Beach Centre The Juno Beach Centre (french: Centre Juno Beach) is a museum located in Courseulles-sur-Mer in the Calvados region of Normandy, France. It is situated immediately behind the beach codenamed Juno, the section of the Allied beachhead on which 14 ...

where a flag is displayed showing the

with, in the top left corner, the Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom formed by the superposition of the cross of St. George, St. Patrick and St. Andrew. It is hallmarked with a shield with the Canadian coat of arms which was created by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

in 1924. The Red Ensign remained the national flag of Canada until 1965. It was then replaced by the red and white maple leaf

Flag of Canada The national flag of Canada (french: le Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or ' (; ), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of , in ...

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 272 inhabitants.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

*The Chateau des Planches (1785) is registered as an historical monument. In the 16th century the area belonged to the Planches family. In 1738 it passed by marriage to Buisson de Courson. From 1785 to 1789 (the years being inscribed on a chimney stack) Nicolas du Buisson de Courson built this castle to replace a dilapidated building. Simply decorated the new house consisted of a central building crowned by a triangular pediment on each side flanked by two pavilions. *The Chateau of the Achard de Bonvouloir family. The main part was built in 1792 and the mid 19th century out of Creuilly limestone. The property belongs to the descendants of Achard, a contemporary of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. The castle, surrounded by a large park, is composed of a central pavilion topped by a triangular pediment and flanked by two wings at the front. During the

a camp designed to accommodate thousands of injured people from the city of Caen was located in the building. *There are two Fortified Farms in the commune: **The Bourg farm, called "Fiquet", in the style of the 16th century. This farm was extensively rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. **The former Levallois farm from the 13th, 14th, 18th, and 19th centuries is a typical Norman farmhouse with its enclosed courtyard, dovecote, stables, bakery, its granary, ''charretteries'', two porches from 1739 for the main porch and 1710 for the porch leading to the fields formerly facing Bonvouloir Castle. In the main body of the house are traces of architectural features such as two sinks in ''puisette'' style from the 13th and 14th centuries with its western gable, and a tower with a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

typical of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

which was once part of a stately home very altered in the 19th century. To the north of the main house are the Thue and Seulles rivers, near the Mill de la Porte which had two wheels. During the

the mill housed the headquarters of the

commanded by General

Harry Crerar General Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (28 April 1888 – 1 April 1965) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in N ...

. **The Chateau Farm from the 19th century called the ''Fiquet Vallerande farm''. An architectural landmark for the region because of the ''Maine Anjou'' style. *Several Mills in the commune (without mill wheels). Located on the road of the mills, in the 19th century the village had a dozen mills distributed along the Thue. These establishments played an important role in industry and were mainly grain mills in this region, or pressing textiles, as at

Cully Cully may refer to: Places * Cully, Calvados, a former commune in the Allier department, France *Cully, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Vaud * Cully, Portland, Oregon, United States, a neighborhood in northeast Portland People Given ...

. *The Seulles and Thue Valleys (the two rivers bordering the commune). *The Marettes Nature Garden, a garden for associative learning for vegetable garden cultivation. *The old Press in the area of the Bonvouloir family castle. A building in the medieval style dating from approximately the 15th or 16th centuries or possibly earlier - it was at one time the press for the village - its cider tower and

Wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts controll ...

can still be seen. *The old Pedestrian Bridge (1743) made of Creuilly limestone (300X200X400). Located just after the last Amblie mill, this bridge spans the Seulles river. The second arm of the river is crossed by a footbridge. The bridge was used by cows grazing on the other side of the river. After its deterioration from this usage it was restored after the construction of a ford downstream for the passage of livestock. *The Orival Stone Quarry (

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

). In this open-air quarry stone called ''Orival Quarry Tile'' is extracted. This stone is very coarse grained and is more resistant to frost than Caen stone. Quarrying from the Merovingian strata is important economically for several communes. Traces of ancient

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...

s testify to this. In the 11th and 12th centuries tile Orival Quarry tiles were used in the construction of monuments such as

Bayeux Cathedral Bayeux Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux ( French: ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux''), is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Bayeux in Normandy, France. A national monument, it is the seat of the Bishop of B ...

. These quarries were mentioned for the first time in 1692 in the land rents for Fécamp Abbey. Stone has been extracted continuously from the 19th century until the 21st century and is exported to large distances. *The

Menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...

of Planches.

Religious heritage

*The Church (13th century) is registered as an historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée This church bears the marks of many rebuilds. The Romanesque nave from the 12th century, as evidenced by the

Gadrooning Gadrooning is a decorative motif consisting of convex curves in a series. In furniture and other decorative arts, it is an ornamental carved band of tapered, curving and sometimes alternating concave and convex sections, usually diverging obliquel ...

, is retained one aisle. The western facade was redone in the 13th century. In the 19th century a tower replaced a small steeple from the 16th century based on the archway separating the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

from the nave. The early vaulted choir was partly reworked and a side chapel has been removed. Only the five-arched opening on the north aisle are Romanesque. Some of the sculptures are fanciful figures: such as an outsized man's head or people being bitten by mysterious animals, resulting from workshop jokes typical of Romanesque style. The portal on the western facade is from the 13th century. It is surrounded by a

Torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not tou ...

decorated with rings. The presence of this motif is rare, occurring in very few places in France.

Picture Gallery

File:Châteauamblie.jpg, The Chateau de la Bonvouloir File:castelplanches.jpg, The ''Château des Planches'' of the Buisson de Courson family File:Logisd'amblie.jpg, Western gable end of the lordly manor of Amblie File:pontpieton3.jpg, View along the Seulles river File:Menhir des Planches.JPG, The

File:Corpsamblie.jpg, The Levallois farm File:Moulin.jpg, An old mill: formerly a canteen for the Canadians File:Pontamblie.jpg, The old Creuilly limestone footbridge File:Carriereamblie.jpg, The Quarry

Notable people linked to the commune

(1888-1965), Canadian General and "Commander of the land armies" of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

during the

. He made his headquarters in Amblie on 18 June 1944.

References

{{authority control Former communes of Calvados (department) Lime kilns in France Populated places disestablished in 2017