Norrent-Fontes (; vls, Norrem) is a commune in the
Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
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
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
region of
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 ...
Norrent-Fontes is situated some northwest of Béthune and west of
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
, at the junction of the D94 and D91 roads. The
A26 autoroute
The A26 is a long French motorway connecting Calais and Troyes. It is also known as the Autoroute des Anglais (''Motorway of the English'') as its length forms the first part of the main route from the Dover-Calais ferries and the Channel Tunnel ...
passes through the commune.
History
Known to the Romans as ''Norremum'', later as ''Norrem'', in 1211 and then ''Norrenc'' in 1240. The hamlet of Fontes was known as ''Adfondenis'' in 654. After the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the commune was created from the village of Norrent and the three hamlets of Fontes, Goulay and Malznoi.
Between the two world wars, the commune was home to one of the biggest military
airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
s in northern France. Abandoned in 1940, the site was reused by the Germans to launch V1 missiles towards
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, in 1944. The remains are still visible from the Rely road.
Population
Places of interest
* The church of St. Vaast, dating from the sixteenth century.
* Two old mills and some ancient houses.
* The war memorial.