Bois-Guillaume

Sister cities

• Torgiano

History

Bois-Guillaume was originally a Gallo-Roman settlement of which few traces remain. Local legend claims that in 1040 William the Conqueror's mother built a country house on the hill and the area thus came to be known variously as Boscum Guillelmi or Bosco Willelmi, later becoming Bois-Guillaume. There is, however, no serious evidence of any link to William the Conqueror; this derivation of the town's name is therefore in all likelihood a folk etymology. By the late 19th century, nearby Rouen had expanded to such an extent that parts of Bois-Guillaume had become urbanized. This led to tensions between the urban neighborhoods closest to Rouen (such as Bihorel) and the rest of the commune, which had remained more rural. The situation came to a head in 1892, when Bihorel split from Bois-Guillaume and became a commune in its own right. As a result of the split, the commune of Bois-Guillaume saw its territory reduced by 22% and its population reduced by 38%. In 2010, the municipal councils of Bois-Guillaume and Bihorel began to cooperate more closely, with a view to merging in order to become a single commune once again. In July 2011, despite opposition among residents of both communes, the merger was approved by the two municipal councils and ratified by prefectoral order on 29 August 2011. The new commune of Bois-Guillaume-Bihorel came into being on 1 January 2012. Following an appeal, however, the prefectoral order was repealed on 18 June 2013, and the new commune was disbanded on 31 December 2013; on 1 January 2014, the two former communes of Bois-Guillaume and Bihorel were reinstated.

Geography

The town is a wealthy, residential hilltop suburb of Rouen, semi-rural, semi-suburban with a little farming and some light industry. It is considered part of Greater Rouen, being just to the northeast, at the junction of the D43 and the D928 roads.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,143
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,922
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,787
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,765
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,743
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,552
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,457
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,366

Most recent

• M 3 — 2008-11-19
  3 km NNW of Varengeville-sur-Mer, France
• M 3.1 — 2008-11-18
  13 km NW of Varengeville-sur-Mer, France
• M 3 — 2008-11-18
  4 km NW of Varengeville-sur-Mer, France
• M 3.1 — 2008-11-18
  13 km NW of Varengeville-sur-Mer, France
• M 3.5 — 2007-08-01
  2 km SSE of Blonville-sur-Mer, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-07-24
  15 km W of Étretat, France