Cap Gris-Nez (literally "cape grey nose"; ) is a
cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...
on the
Côte d'Opale
The Opal Coast ( ; ) is a coastal region in northern France on the English Channel, popular with tourists.
Geography
The ''Côte d'Opale'' is a coastal region in northeastern France, in the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. It extend ...
in the
Pas-de-Calais ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...
'' in northern
France.
The 'Cliffs of the Cape' is the closest point of France to
England – from their English counterparts at
Dover.
Etymology
''Gris-nez'' literally means "grey nose" in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
. It is derived from colloquial Dutch "grey cape"; officially, the Dutch name was ''Swartenesse'' ("black cape") to set it apart from ''Blankenesse'' "white cape" (
Cap Blanc-Nez
Cap Blanc-Nez (french: kap blɑ̃ ne, literally "Cape White Nose" in English; from Dutch ''Blankenesse'', white headland) is a cape on the Côte d'Opale, in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'', in northern France, culminating at 134 m. The cli ...
) to the northeast. The element ''-nesse'' is
cognate to English ''
-ness'', denoting "headland", as in for example
Dungeness
Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the ha ...
or
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
.
Geology
The cliffs of Cap Gris-Nez are made of
sandstone,
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay parti ...
and
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
. They are mainly grey, which gives the cape its name. It is also a popular place to collect fossils, which are mainly from the Jurassic period. Common fossils include bivalves, gastropods and wood. In the sandstone layers with small pebbles, one can find teeth of fish and reptiles. Sometimes, larger
ammonites
Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefis ...
are found in the sandstones.
The cape is a regular stopover for millions of migratory birds.
History
The proximity of the cape to England led to the frequent destruction of the nearby village of
Audinghen
Audinghen (; Dutch: ''Oudinghen'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
A farming commune, comprising several hamlets, some north of Boulogne-sur-Mer, at the junction of the D940 and th ...
in wars between England and France. On the top of the cliff are the ruins of an English fortress, built by
Henry VIII at the beginning of the 16th century. The English called the fort 'Blackness', a translation of the Dutch name ''Swartenisse''.
[Colvin, Howard, ed., ''The History of the King's Works'', vol. 3 part 1, HMS0 (1975), 388-9.]
;
Napoleonic Wars
Napoleon stopped at the cape on 1 July 1803, whilst making an inspection of the coast around
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Department ...
and of his
invasion troops. He then envisioned setting up a cross-Channel
optical telegraph
An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals. There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph which uses pivoted indicator arms and ...
, with a semaphore on the cape. The first semaphore of this line was installed on the cape in 1805, without waiting for the planned French invasion of England. On 18 July 1805,
a naval battle took place off the cape. A British flotilla with strong numerical superiority pursued Dutch ships that were following the coast and trying to get into the harbour at
Ambleteuse
Ambleteuse (; vls, Ambeltuwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
History
Ambleteuse began as a hamlet of a few huts in the middle of the dunes, from which the derisory name of “carcahuttes" (huts made from old- ...
. Expecting an attack of this type, Napoleon had stationed a battery of 300 guns on the cape, and a barrage from this force obliged the British vessels to withdraw.
;
World War II
Commandant
Ducuing and his men died on May 25, 1940, while defending the semaphore, and a commemorative
stela was later placed on the cape to commemorate this sacrifice.
Later, the Germans built a
blockhouse
A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stron ...
inside the Tudor ruins. The locality has a cluster of World War II bunkers, part of the
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
intended to rebuff the anticipated allied invasion. There are heavy artillery sites – Grosser Kurfürst Battery, formerly with three 170 millimeter guns, and
Todt Battery
Todt is a German surname.
Surname
People with the Todt surname include:
* Anthony Todt (born 1975), American mass murderer (2019 Todt family murders)
* Emil Todt ( 18101900), German artist and sculptor
* Fritz Todt (18911942), German engi ...
, with four 380 mm guns. These covered the approaches to both Calais and
Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
and they were protected by massive concrete blockhouses and other lesser defensive sites. One of the Todt Battery blockhouses now houses the Atlantic Wall Museum.
Units of the
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The 3rd Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of all army units in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, as well as all units extending westwards from th ...
liberated the area in September 1944.
;
Post-war
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...
The cylindrical concrete lighthouse at Cap Gris-Nez dates from 1958. It is 31 meters (102 feet) high, and replaces an earlier structure destroyed in 1944.
The lighthouse and its accompanying radar station provide guidance to over 500 ships passing the cape every day.
See also
*
Itius Portus
Itius Portus or Portus Itius was the ancient Roman name for a sea port on the English Channel in what is now Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France, though its precise location is unknown. The main candidates have been Wissant and Boulogne (more usually call ...
*
Cross-Channel guns in the Second World War
The Dover Strait coastal guns were long-range coastal artillery batteries that were sited on both sides of the English Channel during the Second World War. The British built several gun positions along the coast of Kent, England while the German ...
References
External links
{{Coord, 50, 52, 15, N, 1, 35, 01, E, region:FR_type:landmark, display=title
Landforms of the Pas-de-Calais
Gris Nez
Landforms of Hauts-de-France
Chalk landforms