The Location of Deville Les Rouen

Deville's location in France

Deville's place within Normandy

Deville in relation to Rouen

Déville-lès-Rouen is very similar to Syston in many ways. Just as Syston borders Leicester, Deville is a town to the west of Rouen, in the Seine-Maritime region of France. It covers about 337 ha.

Its population, made up of Dévilloises and Dévillois, has remained stable since the last census with a population of 10,441.

Again, just as Syston is in the Wreake Valley, Deville lies along a valley and the town is crossed by the River Cailly. Its industrial development, through the years, is due to this river which has given rise to many factories in the lead and fabric printing industries. It was a very prosperous town during the 19th century.

A Brief History of Deville-les-Rouen

For many centuries Deville was a simple village in the middle of forests which covered the Cailly valley right down to the river, which was marshy.

In 1844, while engineers were digging the ground for the railway line from Paris to Le Havre, they found a stone sarcophagus with skeleton dating from the Franque period.

Later, in 1880, when the cemetery was enlarged, workmen discovered traces of objects from the Gallic period made out of bronze, such as moulds, axes, handles of swords, fragments of lance, rings, and bracelets. These are now on show in Rouen at the Museum of Antiquities.

There is also evidence of forestry workers living in the valley at the time of the building of the abbey of Saint Martin at Boscherville.

From the 13th century, Deville was owned by the archbishops of Rouen, who were given the village by the Merovingian king. It's likely that these archbishops called it "Deivilla", "Danvilla" or "Desvilla", which means "the House of God" or "City of God", after their manor house. This manor was located on the site of "Large Carue", and was surrounded by gardens and meadows, bordering the river of Cailly where the Archbishops had fishing rights.

This manor was the favorite residence of Bishop Eudes Rigaud, who had the honor to receive the King of France there: Saint-Louis, but the manor was most famous when Cardinal George d' Amboise, became a minister for Louis XII. Sadly, the Archbiships moved away in the 16th century, and this led to the ruin of the manor.

The valley has many natural springs, whose waters have health giving properties. One of these springs still exists: the Saint-Siméon fountain (where Decaux Abbot Street and Doctor Emile Battles Street meet). For hundreds of years pilgrims came to take the water as a cure for skin diseases.

In 1731 Voltaire, the great French writer lived in Deville, to escape the attention of the world.

Another famous person to have visited Déville was the First Bonaparte Consul. He came from Roeun and visited the factories of Mr. Rawle and Mrs. Long. When he became the Emperor, Napoleon I returned to Déville on May 30, 1810. He came from Le Havre with his new wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

King Louis-Philippe also visited Déville in 1831 and 1833.

In 1735 an industrial plant was built to manufacture rolled lead. This metallurgical industry grew continuously and is the oldest industry in the city.

Around 1700 the textile industry began to grow in the town, with many factories dyeing and printing fabrics. Unfortunately, after a period of great prosperity, the industry went into decline and the last factory, owned by Girard, closed in 1970.

Now the town relies on mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and electronics for its main employment.