Vestiges du vieux pont et du moulin

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

Vernon is a town built on the Seine near the Epte. As a result, the town is on an important communication route linking Paris to the sea. With the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte which creates the duchy of Normandy, Vernon becomes a frontier town between this duchy and the kingdom of France. Vernon is moreover a crossing point of the Seine since antiquity but it is not until Henry I that a first medieval bridge would have been built in the 12th century. In 1296 major floods destroy the bridges on the Seine including that of Vernon. It is therefore rebuilt in the late 13th-early 14th century. The bridge subsequently suffers other damage, notably in the 17th century but it is only repaired summarily at the late 18th-early 19th century, before being definitively abandoned with the construction of a new stone bridge inaugurated in 1860. The old bridge of Vernon and the remains of the mill are thus situated on the right bank of the Seine. They are in line with the former castle and near the château des tourelles. The bridge consists of three stone arches on which rests the bridge deck in earth. The arches rest on four stone piles reinforced by cutwaters. Four other piles also survive in the Seine, the last being situated on the Talus island and follow the same building principles as the first. The old mill is placed on the bridge at the end of the third arch. It is a construction in timber framing, filling in contemporary brick with cement mortar and external render. The roof is hipped with two pitches. Neither the wheel nor any other element of the mill mechanism remains.