The following extract is taken from a literature pack from the Dieppe Town Council
Dieppe, A Town of Discovery
"From the top of the cliff, we could see the whole town, with the churches and the castle." Frank, aged 10.
Dieppe is today a busy town of 35.000 population, the third largest in the region of Upper Normandy. It is steeped in history, much of it connected with the English-speaking world in good times and bad. The name of the town derives from the Viking word "djupa", meaning "deep" : the Viking explorers found on this stretch of coast the draught they needed to beach their boats. This was the origin of what was to become in the 11th Century William the Conqueror's base for his conquest of England, and in the 16th Century the principal port of the Kingdom of France.
Great navigators such as Cousin, Parmentier, Ango and Fleury sailed from Dieppe and their boats brought back ivory and spices from newly discovered lands. It was from Dieppe that Verrezono set sail in 1524 to found the settlement that later became New York City. One of the great figures in the history of Dieppe was Abraham Duquesne, commander of the fleets of King Louis XIV. Most of old Dieppe was destroyed in 1694, bombarded by an Ango-Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Barclay. Louis XIV ordered the immediate reconstruction of the town, and the elegant arcades surrounding the port date from this period.
At the beginning of the 19th Century, the Duchesse du Berry launched here the new fashion of sea bathing - an activity valued as much for its therapeutic benefits as for the sometimes grim pleasure it afforded.
During the last two centuries, Dieppe has inspired such painters as Delacroix, Pissarro, Renoir, Braque and Jacques-Emile Blanche and, from England, Turner and Sickert. The writers associated with Dieppe include Chateaubriand, Dumas, Maupossant, Celine and Simenon. Saint-Soens and Roussel came here to compose their music, and Bunuel and Chabrol are among the film makers who have translated the images of Dieppe to the cinema screen.
Dieppe Castle Museum, which dominates the Western skyline of the town, contains many artistic treasures, including a remarkable collection of ivories. Opposite the town railway station is the Jean Renoir Cultural Centre - known in Dieppe as "Le CAC", which houses a magnificent library (with books, records and videos), a theatre with cinema projection, an exhibition area, a restaurant and meeting rooms.
Positioned on the shortest route from London to Paris, Dieppe has a long association with Britain. The regular ferry service between Newhaven and Dieppe dates from 1825 and today it carries a million passengers a year between Sussex and Normandy.
Behind the town is the green, undulating countryside of Normandy, whose rich agricultural produce fills the stalls of Dieppe's colourful street market every Saturday morning. Less than an hour away - by coach or train - is Rouen, city of Joan of Arc, with its timbered houses and magnificent cathedral. And there are many other nearby places worth visiting - including Henry of Navarre's castle at Arques-lo-Bata ille, the merry fishing port of Le Treport, the former royal palace of Eu, Fecamp where Benedictine is made, and Jumieges which is considered the most beautiful ruined abbey in France.
Dieppe is an old and historic town with a modern outlook on life; a town with an authentic flavour of provincial France which has become a busy crossroads in the new Europe of the 1990s. Dieppe is a place to be enjoyed - and a place to learn in, too. Les Roches is there to make the enjoyment, and the learning, easier.
