Ault, Somme

Ault
Ault
Location within Picardy region  Ault
Coordinates: 50°06′07″N 1°26′58″E / 50.1019°N 1.4494°ECoordinates: 50°06′07″N 1°26′58″E / 50.1019°N 1.4494°E
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Abbeville
Canton	Ault
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes Interrégionale du Gros Jacques
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Marthe Sueur
Area^1	5.99 km^2 (2.31 sq mi)
Population (2006)^2	1,941
• Density	320/km^2 (840/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	80039 / 80460
Elevation	0–107 m (0–351 ft) (avg. 86 m or 282 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.

Ault is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.

Geography

Situated on the English Channel, on the D19 road, 20 miles (32 km) west of Abbeville, in the southwest of the department, Ault possesses chalk cliffs overlooking a beach of pebbles (and sand at low tide). To the south of the town is a large wooded area, the ‘Bois de Cise’, in a valley that leads on to the coast. To the north, the cliffs descend to the level of the beach at Onival. The area around the town, the 'hâble d’Ault' was mostly tidal marshland that has been reclaimed from the sea. Cattle, sheep and game are raised here.

Railways

Ault had a station on the standard gauge Woincourt to Onival line, which closed to passengers in May 1939, but saw much use during World War II to move materials for the Atlantic Wall. During the war, a metre gauge line was laid alongside the road from Lanchères, on the CFBS, to Ault. This line was dismantled after the war.^[1]

Population

Historical population of Ault, Somme

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006
Population	1996	2014	2192	2058	2054	2070	1941
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Places of interest

• The 15th / sixteenth century church of Saint-Pierre,
• The war memorial, designed by Paul Landowski.
• Two chapels, at Onival and Bois de Cise dating from the nineteenth century.
• Several ancient village houses.
• The lighthouse, with its lantern over 106 metres above sea-level.
• The cliffs
• The beaches of Ault and Bois de Cise..
• The ‘hâble d'Ault’, with signed pathways.

Sea defences

The town has paid a heavy price defending itself against the sea, which is constantly washing away the beach, cliffs and public spaces, such as the car parks and gardens. The problem is ongoing. A "balcony on the sea", a huge concrete construction has been built but the risks remain. Signs of wear of the dyke under the casino have been noted.

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  The cliffs

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  Bois de Cise and cliffs

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See also

Communes of the Somme department

References

• INSEE

1. Pacey, Philip (2000). Railways of the Baie de Somme. The Oakwood Press (Usk). p. 87. ISBN 0-85361-554-3.

External links

• Mayor’s website (French)
• Ault on the Insee website (French)
• Ault on the Quid website (French)