Brimeux

Brimeux
Coat of arms
Brimeux
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region Brimeux
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardy
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Montreuil
Canton	Campagne-lès-Hesdin
Intercommunality	Val de Canche et d'Authie
Government
• Mayor	Régis Picque
Area1	10.68 km2 (4.12 sq mi)
Population (2009)2	762
• Density	71/km2 (180/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62177 / 62170
Elevation	6–84 m (20–276 ft) (avg. 10 m or 33 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Brimeux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France.

Geography

Brimeux is a village situated some 4 miles (7 km) southeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the D149 road, in the valley of the river Canche.

History

The village name first appears in 1042 in a royal charter and was then written Brivermacum, a Latin name from the Celtic for bridge. Over the years, it has had different spellings such as Brivamagus, Brivomagus, Brimeaus (in 1153), Brimodio and Brimodium (in 1154), Brimaus in 1226, Brimeul in 1415, Brimeu by 1499, and finally Brimeux, in 1704.

When peat was extracted at Brimeux, a 5 metre long wooden deck, a tin dish and flakes of flint were discovered, indicating that Brimeux had been inhabited before the arrival of the Romans.

Various objects of the Gallo-Roman era were unearthed during the construction of the railway station: coins; weights and the remains of a villa.

The area was ransacked by the invading Normans in 842.

There are traces of the motte of the feudal castle owned by the De Brimeu family, seigneurs of the village.

Sights

• The church.

Built between 1495 and 1524 by the seigneur, Hugh de Melun, in flamboyant Gothic style. The nave was restored in 1860 by the architect Norman Clovis who gave it the character that we see today. The bell tower once housed 3 bells but now only has the one, the others having been confiscated in 1793

• The war memorial erected in 1920.

Population

The inhabitants are called Brimeusois.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	630	—
1968	642	+1.9%
1975	618	−3.7%
1982	616	−0.3%
1990	660	+7.1%
1999	688	+4.2%
2009	762	+10.8%

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Brimeux on the Quid website (French)
• Cyclo Club Brimeux, cycling club of Brimeux