Rouen, Its History and Monuments Part 8

HoTEL DU BOURGTHEROULDE,

_Place de la Pucelle._

After the cathedral and Saint-Ouen, this town possesses no other monument which excites more the curiosity of french or English antiquarians. The first person who described the famous bas-reliefs of the _Camp du Drap-d'Or_, which ornament the exterior of the ancient gallery of the edifice, is dom Montfaucon in the 4th volume of his _Monuments of the french Monarchy_. He only did it, on the indications given by the abbe Noel, who gave the first explanations of these sculptures. After Montfaucon came Dr Ducarel, who has only copied the learned benedictine. Dibdin, the British antiquarian, has also paid his tribute of admiration to the hotel du Bourgtheroulde, in his _Bibliographical, antiquarian and picturesque tour through France_.

Cotman and Dawson Turner, his countrymen, have given a place to this edifice in their respective publications. M. de Jolimont, in his _most remarquable monuments in the town of Rouen_ devotes an article and two engravings to this edifice. MM. Nodier, Taylor and de Cailleux have enriched their _picturesque and romantic tour_, with a collection of lithographic engravings representing the celebrated interview between Francis Ist and Henry VIIIth, that took place in 1520 in a field situated between Guines and Ardres in Picardy. Mr A. Le Prevost has also written learned memoirs on the hotel du Bourgtheroulde. He has fixed the date of the building (about the end of the XVth century), and revealed the name of the founder (Guillaume-le-Roux), and facilitated the numerous descriptions which have been made of it. The most complete, is that given by M. Delaqueriere, in his work ent.i.tled: _Historical description of the houses of Rouen_.

In the short description that we give of this remarkable building, we must notice the bas-reliefs, six in number, which adorn the elegant hexagonal tower, in the inner court and represent pastoral scenes. We must also add that interpreters make a great mistake when they inform strangers that the celebrated maid of Orleans (burnt in 1431) was judged and imprisoned in this building.

ANCIENT ABBEY OF SAINT AMAND,

_Rue Saint-Amand._

NON EST HIC ALIVD NISI DOMVS DEI.

The pious monks who caused this simple and touching inscription to be engraven over the gate of their monastery, never supposed that one day it would offer the most strange of _solecisms_. Enter this house and you will have great difficulty in believing that you visit one of the most celebrated abbeys in Rouen.

This abbey, which was founded and endowed by the pious lady Aimeline, and enriched by the liberalities of Robert-the-Magnificent, this once famous monastery, which was honoured by the protection of kings, is now a confused sort of inclosure and inhabited by workmen of different kinds. Dirty courts and buildings in ruin have been for a long time the only remains of the interior of Saint-Amand. Some parts nevertheless have escaped destruction. Such is a very curious building, which had been erected about the end of the XVIth century during the life of the abbot Thoma.s.se Daniel. This edifice is extremely remarkable from the sculptures which cover the whole front, and chiefly represent pointed windows. On the first floor, we find a room with two fire places, on one we may still distinguish in spite of mutilation, the armorial bearings of the Daniel family. The wainscot is even more curious than the sculptures which ornament the front of the house. At one of the corners of this building there is a small turret, of stone, its form is polygonal; its ornaments are rich and in very good taste: it is a fine specimen of the productions of the _renaissance_.

The building, with a front of the Ionic order, which is separated from the other by the turret of which we have just spoken, contains a room, which a few years ago, excited the curiosity of connoisseurs. The fire place was surmounted by an oaken wainscot, which represented, in niches separated by pilasters, four figures, those of the virgin, the angel Gabriel, Saint-Margaret and Saint-Magdalen.

BUREAU DES FINANCES,

_Opposite the front of the Cathedral._

This was the ancient _Palace of the Court des Aides_. The building is princ.i.p.ally composed of hewn stone: it was built about the year 1509.

Although this edifice has suffered numerous degradations, it still merits the attention of connoisseurs. The building has two separate fronts: the princ.i.p.al one opposite the cathedral, the other in the _rue du Pet.i.t-Salut_. The decorations are the same on both.

In 1705, the _Cour des Aides_ was united to the _Cour des Comptes_, under the name _Cour de Comptes, Aides et Finances de Rouen_. The present edifice has nevertheless always retained the name of _Bureau des Finances_.

REMARKABLE HOUSES AND CELEBRATED MEN.

Ancient town hall, rue de la Grosse-Horloge and rue Thouret.

Sculptured wooden houses, Grande-Rue, no 115 and 129.

House, rue aux Juifs, no 47 and 49.

House, rue Perciere, no 11.

House, rue Bouvreuil, no 4.

House, rue Etoupee, no 4.

Houses, rue des Carmes, no 69 to 77.

House, rue Caquerel, no 13.

House, rue Damiette, no 29.

Houses, rue Eau-de-Robec, no 186, 221, 223.

Houses, rue Malpalu, no 90 and 92.

Houses, rue du Change, no 2 to 8.

Houses, rue du Bac, no 28 and 30.

House, rue des Cordeliers, no 45.

Houses which are remarkable as having been those in which the following celebrated men were born.

House in the rue de la Pie, no 4, where in 1606 the great Corneille was born.

House in the rue des Bons-Enfants, no 132-134, where Fontenelle, was born on the 11th february 1657.

House in the rue aux Ours, no 61. An inscription placed on this house reminds us, that it was here, that A. Boieldieu, the celebrated composer, was born.

House rue aux Juifs, no 9. Here Jean Jouvenet, the celebrated painter, was born on the 21st August, 1647.

To these celebrated names we must add the following of men equally natives of Rouen: Thomas Corneille (the brother of Peter), Lemery, Basnage, Samuel Bochart, the fathers Berruyer, Brumoy, Daniel, Sanadon, the painters Restout, Letellier, Sacquepee, Colombel, Lemonnier, Gericault, mademoiselle Champmesle, madame Du Boccage, Armand Carrel, Edward Adam, Dulong. Rouen is the birth-place of many other distinguished men.

BRIDGES.

STONE BRIDGE AND STATUE OF CORNEILLE.

This bridge was opened to the public, in 1829. It is about one hundred and fifty yards higher up than the bridge of boats, which was formerly almost opposite the _rue du Bac_[19]. We may almost say that it is formed of two separate bridges, of which the two ends join each other on the western extremity of the _Ile Lacroix_. Each part of the bridge is composed of three arches. The span of the middle arch is of thirty one metres (93 feet french); the lateral arches, are of twenty six metres (78 feet); the whole length of the bridge is two hundred and sixty six metres (798 feet). In the centre of the platform on the bridge, is placed the bronze statue of Pierre Corneille, on a pedestal of white Carrara marble, which rests on a base of granite.

This statue is twelve feet high, and weighs 4540 kilogrammes (9274 pounds _de marc_). It was cast by Mr Honore Gonon, at Paris, after the model by Mr David. The pedestal is by Mr Gregoire, the civil architect of the Seine-Inferieure. The height of the monument is twenty six feet.

The first stone was laid by the king, on the 10th september 1833. The statue was solemnly inaugurated, on the 19 october 1834. On one side of the pedestal, we distinguish the following inscription:

TO PIERRE CORNEILLE, BY SUBSCRIPTION, 1834.

This statue was erected by means of a subscription, opened by the Society of Emulation of Rouen. It is to this society that we owe the first idea of this national monument.

A medal was struck for the occasion, and represents on one side the head of _Pierre Cornellie_, with the following inscription:

_Pierre Corneille, born at Rouen the 6th june 1606, died at Paris on the 1st october 1684._

And on the reverse, the statue, with this inscription:

_Statue of bronze, erected by subscription to Pierre Corneille in his native town, through the exertions of the Society of Emulation of Rouen, in 1834._