The tourism promotion network of 11 municipalities
Touques, discovery tour in 1 hour
Walking tour
Touques experienced a strong dynamism thanks to its port, which peaked during the late Middle Ages between the 52th century and the XNUMXth century. This port was used for the travel of the Dukes and Kings to go to England, as well as the exploitation of salt, a source of development for the city. Up to XNUMX salt works were present in the city of Touques during the XNUMXth century.
Much later, the Paris-Deauville railway line was established to serve the new seaside resorts of Trouville and Deauville. To do this, in 1863, the Touques was diverted, thus causing the disappearance of its port.
Town of yesterday and today, Touques unveils its medieval heritage to those who linger there.
Distance:
2 kmThe current halls remind us that there were some beautiful medieval halls built in the XNUMXth century. For five centuries, they housed the weekly Saturday market which was considered considerable with poultry, vegetables and other goods and three annual fairs. These halls belonged to the Bishops of Lisieux who taxed their occupation until the Revolution. They were parallel to the main street and formed of two naves separated by eleven bays, crossing almost from edge to edge the whole place.
In 1854, considering a state of advanced dilapidation, the Prefect ordered their destruction. The municipality of the time opposed it and a fight of several decades was engaged. Nothing will do, they are destroyed in 1910. It was not until 1995 that Touques returned to its halls, then enlarged in 2018.


This construction from the end of the XNUMXth century was the seat of the royal administration and housed a saltworks controller and a quest clerk, both employees of the Ferme Générale, a privileged company responsible for collecting indirect taxes. They were in charge of supervising the production of the salt workers and of collecting for the king the taxes on salt called the "quarter broth". The salt was harvested by boiling a brine obtained by leaching sand impregnated with sea salt. The saltworks poured a quarter of their production into the king's granaries.
Built along the Douet Mont-Blanc, later called Ruisseau des Ouies, the Grenier à Sel housed the production of saltworks. This ideal situation allowed the boats loaded with salt to arrive there. Of 52 saltworks in the 12th century, only XNUMX remained in the XNUMXth century. Subsequently, the place was used by the first municipal councils of the town.
The whole of the Attic and the Manor are the subject of a major rehabilitation project by the municipality of Touques.

In the Middle Ages, it was recommended to dock at Touques to disembark in the Kingdom of France. Touques was very popular with the Dukes and Kings, who frequently traveled between England and Normandy and disembarked at the port to stop over at Bonneville Castle.
At its peak, the port was a shipyard, where the flagship of the 250th century Norman fleet was built. Its trade was almost entirely turned towards export (wood, salt, apples, cider and calvados) delivered to distant destinations, such as Brazil or Newfoundland. From the 300th to the end of the 1863th century, an average of XNUMX to XNUMX boats entered the port of Touques per year. He remained very active until the beginning of the XNUMXth century, until the development of Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer, the roads and the railway, and the diversion of the river. Touques permanently lost its port in XNUMX.

The monumental portal is listed in the Inventory of Historical Monuments. The garden was designed by Page Russel, a British gardener and landscaper.
Many remarkable horses are bred there, including some legendary champions, having won the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

The presbytery of St Peter's Church lost its function in 1790, when its church was desecrated.





Outside, the lantern tower, erected after 1125, has the particularity of being octagonal, whereas it is usually square.
Inside, the church has a restored Romanesque nave, dating from around 1100 years old, reduced to two bays in the XNUMXth century. The crossing of the transept preserves capitals with beautiful decorations: quadrupeds, snakes, flat heads. The arches of the crossing, decorated with bird beaks, support the octagonal lantern tower. The choir, offset from the nave, is covered with a barrel vault supported by a double arch, a rare occurrence in Normandy during the Romanesque period.
Decommissioned during the revolution, the church has been desecrated since 1791. It was almost destroyed and owes its protection to the National Caisse des Monuments Historiques created in 1840 which undertook extensive restorations there the same year. It was used as a depot for furniture, firefighting equipment and even petroleum. In the 1920s, bleachers were set up there to make it a performance hall. Today, it is a cultural space: concerts and exhibitions follow one another.

The church has a Romanesque nave, transformed in the XNUMXth, XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, a Gothic choir entirely rebuilt during the Hundred Years War, and a Louis XIV-style portal. The choir houses an old opening intended for lepers of the sickness center of Saint-Marc so that they can listen to mass outside.
The church bears the name Saint Thomas in reference to Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterburry after his visit to Touques. Thomas Becket was in the service of King Henry II Plantagenêt as Chancellor of England. Following his appointment as archbishop, he renounced his role as chancellor and publicly opposed the king. Thomas Becket was assassinated in his cathedral in 1170. He will be canonized in 1173 and the inhabitants of Touques will place their church under his protection. Inside the church, a stained glass window represents his assassination. We can also see "holes in the burrows" in the walls which were used to put scaffolding to allow repairs, a gigantic crucifix dating from the XNUMXth century, a statue of Saint Gilles (protector of children), a virgin and child.
Outside, under the roof, "Modillions" representing animal heads were used to hold the cornice.
The Saint-Thomas church is since the desecration of the Saint-Pierre church, the only place of worship of Touques.
