Beaurainville

Coat of arms

Beaurainville

Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region

Beaurainville

Coordinates: 50°25′32″N 1°53′56″E / 50.4256°N 1.8989°ECoordinates: 50°25′32″N 1°53′56″E / 50.4256°N 1.8989°E

Country

Val de Canche et d'Authie]

Government

• Mayor (2001–2008)

Ghislain Tétard

Area¹

13.09 km² (5.05 sq mi)

Population (2009)²

1,923

• Density

150/km² (380/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

62100 / 62990

Elevation

9–102 m (30–335 ft)
(avg. 16 m or 52 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.

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

Geography

Beaurainville is a small town situated some 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer, on the D130 road and on the banks of the river Canche.

History

In 1064, two years before the Battle of Hastings, Harold Godwinson, then Earl of Wessex, was shipwrecked on the shores of Ponthieu and captured by Guy I, Count of Ponthieu(d.1100) who took him to his castle of Beaurain, situated 24 1/2 km up the River Canche from the English Channel coast, (now Le Touquet), as the Bayeux Tapestry relates: HIC APPREHENDIT WIDO HAROLDUM ET DUXIT EUM AD BELREM ET IBI EUM TENUIT ("Here Guy seized Harold and led him to Beaurain and held him there"). Duke William of Normandy demanded the release of the earl, and Count Guy delivered Harold Godwinson up after being paid a ransom for him.