Houlbec-Cocherel is a commune in the Eure department, in the Normandy region, 19 km northeast of Évreux.
Its territory of 11 km² is bordered to the west by the course of the Eure, which constitutes its limit.
Made up of two parishes which merged in the 17th century, the locality has two centers: the main town of Houlbec, to the north-east, and the village of Cocherel, which runs along the Eure to the west. It should also be noted that Houlbec is divided into two parts: the "top", on a plateau, where town halls and schools are located, and the "bottom", where the church is located, on the edge of a stream.
Cocherel has been known since the 14th century when Du Guesclin gathered his troops there in 1364 to fight and defeat the Anglo-Navarrese (the battle having taken place in the neighboring town of Hardencourt-Cocherel).
Under the Ancien Régime, the fiefs were dedicated to the cultivation of cereals, which led to the establishment of mills, and quarries were exploited in the 19th century. Tile factories and brickworks are also mentioned.
Today, the town (which has nearly 1,300 inhabitants) has preserved a bucolic environment which in its time appealed to Aristide Briand, who bought a residence and land in Cocherel, where he is buried. Its historical and natural heritage, between rivers, meadows and orchards, has everything to attract the attention of lovers of green tourism.
The discovery of the heritage can be done in two stages, and start with the village of Cocherel, on the edge of the Eure and the road leading to Louviers.
The most visited site is the tomb of Aristide Briand (1862-1932), President of the Council and great diplomat. He discovered the village during a hunting trip. He then returned there by renting a room in an inn and ended up acquiring several properties there. He wished to be buried there in the charming cemetery adjoining the church.
A statue of the statesman is also erected near the bridge which spans the Eure.
Next to see is the Notre-Dame church, of Romanesque origin (12th century), originally dependent on the Saint-Ouen abbey in Rouen. Note the basket-handle door, with arch decorated with foliage and animals, in Gothic style. Remodeled several times, the building has a square bell tower from the 18th century and retains statues from the 15th and 16th centuries (Saint Barbara, Saint Sebastian, Saint Anne, etc.). The church is listed in the Inventory, as well as its cemetery.
A wash house (19th century), a wheat mill established in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 18th century which has retained part of its mechanism, and the bridge over the Eure, already mentioned in the 14th century, rebuilt in 1846 then after being bombed in 1940. It is made up of four arches on the navigable arm (Cocherel side), separated by an island which is accessed by a staircase, and two arches on the small arm (Jouy side). A metal parapet crowns it. The whole formed by the bridge and the mill was included in the Inventory.
Finally, in Cocherel, the eponymous castle dating from the 17th century built of bricks and stones lost its home, bombed in 1944. But outbuildings are still visible. We conclude this overview with the Hulottes farm that Aristide Briand converted into a residence. The two stone owls which adorn the portal were ordered by Briand from the sculptor Emile Guillaume. The politician was also the owner of the Cailleterie manor (17th and 19th centuries).
In the village of Houlbec, the oldest parts of the Saint-Pierre church date from the 16th century (north cross, supported by corner buttresses) and were extensively remodeled in the 19th century. More recently, the 19th century stained glass windows were restored.
We then observe on the Place du Carrefour, designed in the shape of a star in the 19th century, where six roads “cross” several constructions: a cross, a monumental column of the Virgin (19th century) and the war memorial of the Second War (20th century).
Houlbec castle, for its part, was built in the 18th century. It was enlarged at the beginning of the 20th century with a pavilion flanked by a turret. The neo-classical style complex dominates the Bas Houlbec valley with its park.
In the locality of La Moinerie, a farm with its barns has long depended on the Cistercian abbey of La Noë, the remains of which are located in La Bonneville-sur-Iton, west of Evreux. The barns were "dismantled" in the 1970s...
Most of all these elements and heritage sites are also highlighted via two hiking trails. Well marked, they cover the territory of the commune and its immediate surroundings. The first is 9 km long (a 2h15 walk) and has the town of Houlbec as its starting point. The second (7 km) is dedicated to the Eure valley and Cocherel.
Other routes are possible, including the Cocherel plain (classified site), the banks of the Eure, wooded areas or bocages. It is even easy to reach the Val de Seine to the east.
Maps and information at the town hall on +33 2 32 36 67 04 or from the tourist office on +33 2 32 62 04 27.
