Fécamp

Fécamp lies in a valley opening through the chalk cliffs of the Norman coast. Its Benedictine abbey of the Holy Trinity and the remains of a ducal residence recall the town's importance to the dukes of Normandy, while its harbour gave access to the Channel. Fishing became a major source of livelihood and trade.

In the later Middle Ages Fécamp's fishermen caught herring, much of which was salted or smoked for transport. The abbey, granted rights over the port, drew revenue from the fishery. Merchants sent preserved fish to Rouen by sea and land, and from there it could reach Paris along the Seine. The abbey and harbour thus tied the town's religious wealth to the work of its seafarers and the markets of the Norman interior.