LEAVENING SPINNING

Along the Andelle, four high towers of red bricks dominate the surrounding fields and emerge from trees. Often confused with the vestiges of a religious building, they bear witness to the folly of the 19th-century industrialist, Baron Levavasseur, a manufacturer and shipowner, who built a huge cotton-spinning filature. Designed to be one of the largest in the region with hundreds of workers, it was ruined by a fire a few years after its construction, but nevertheless operated in a smaller form until 1946. The site is clearly visible from the Départementale road connecting Radepont to Pont-Saint-Pierre (to be taken in front of the abbey of Fontaine-Guérard). A magical and poetic place!