Esquerdes

French commune
name= Esquerdes
region=
departement=
arrondissement=
canton= Lumbres
insee=62309
cp=62380
maire=Gilbert Chiquet
mandat=
intercomm=Communauté de communes du Pays de Lumbres
longitude=2.18833333333
latitude=50.7052777778
alt moy=45 m
alt mini=25 m
alt maxi=139 m
hectares=940
km²=9,4
sans=1620
date-sans=2007
dens=155|

Esquerdes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais "département" in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A farming village situated 4 miles (6km) southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D211 road. The A26 autoroute passes very close by.

Etymology

The village name first appears as Squerda in the year 857. Later known as Ekarde and finally as Esquerdes.

History

An ancient village, Esquerdes was on the Roman road, the "Leulène", that ran from Thérouanne to Sangatte on the coast. An archaeological survey of 1984 revealed traces of the Neolithic period (flint and carved bone) at two sites known as "Les Tripoux" and "Le Paradis".
The private Crèvecoeur farm, near the river, is made up of a number of buildings dating from the 15th century that belonged to John de Trémoillepuis and his son, Philippe de Crèvecoeur, who served under Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and Kings Louis XI and Charles VII. He was appointed Marshall of France in 1483 and changed his surname to that of Esquerdes.
The story of Esquerdes is linked to the development of two major industries of paper and gunpowder, which developed from the time of Louis XIV until the 19th century and which led to a large growth in population. In 1790, the town was large enough (with its 500 inhabitants) to be appointed chief town of the canton. Two hundred years or so later, this figure has more than tripled.

Population

Places of interest

* The church of St.Martin, dating from the 12th century.
* The remains of a 15th century chateau.
* The old paper mill, still working in a small capacity.
* The gunpowder factory.

People linked with the commune

Philippe de Crèvecœur d'Esquerdes (1418 - 1494), Marshal of France in 1486 and seigneur of the village.

See also

Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

External links

* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=62309&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Esquerdes on the Insee website] fr
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=26805&req=Esquerdes Esquerdes on the Quid website] fr

Notes

*"This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on May 12th 2008."