VILLE DE SAINT-SAENS

The town Hall and Church are situated on the square in the heart of the Town. Two structures embellish this area.

The DILLARD Fountain erected in 1900 in honor of Monsieur Dillard, who was Mayor of Saint-Saens at the end of the last century. The construction was financed by a legacy left to the town by Mr. Dillard.

The bronze sculpture in front of the Town Hall is the work of a British artist Geoff Troll who lives in the Pays de Bray. Erected in 1997 on the occasion of the Square’s restructuring, it links fraternal feelings with deep-rooted local culture.

The Church (and the Town) were named after an Irish monk SAEN (ancient Gaelic for John who, by the year 675, founded a monastery on the banks of the river. The Town was built around this spot.

The present Church, the architecture of which was inspired by the Saint Martin de Boscherville Abby has replaced the first edifice destroyed by lightning in 1883. The Church was entirely rebuilt in 1896 and today one can admire the Wonderful stained glass windows (listed, dating from the 14^th and 15^th centuries.)

In September 2006 and again September 2007 I made a visit to England and France for the purpose of seeing the places where our Warren Family was originally descended. The only towns with overnight accommodations close to our main town of interest, Bellencombre, were Dieppe on the coast and Saint-Saens sixteen miles below. In 2006 we spent the night in Saint-Saens. The return trip 2007 we had longer to visit so we overnited in Dieppe and the next in Saint Saens in the same room in the same hotel. The following photos were taken on these two visits and as you will see a postcard setting presented an opportunity at every turn. Of interest to us was the fact the de Varenne River passes through this town from its headwaters below at the small Normandy villages of Saveaumare and Beaumont. Alan, Sandy, Cathy and I arrived early enough in 2007 to walk the streets of the town buy green walnuts to eat in the hotel garden and make reservations for dinner at the Golf Club Chateau. The next day we drove back through Bellencombre and to Dieppe where we did some shopping at a modern market then boarding the car ferry back to Newhaven, UK.