The current municipality of Gonfreville-l'Orcher extends from the Seine in the south to the St. Lawrence River in the north, and covers an area of more than 25 km2. It draws its financial manna from this, since 3 of the 10 main employers in the Le Havre Seine Métropole urban community are located there, including Total Raffinage France. Two former villages form the current municipality: Gonfreville, perched on the cliff and probably created by an Anglo-Scandinavian named Gunnfriðr, and Gournay, a village that had developed along the tributary of the Lizard River. The medieval castle of Orcher gives its importance to Gonfreville: controlling the Seine estuary, the English ensure one of their command there. In the 19th century, factories opened in both Gournay and Gonfreville, along the Seine, in what is still called Mayville, named after a Schneider girl who owned the company. The post-war period changed the history of the town: from 1945 to 1947, the Philipp Morris American military camp extended over 525 hectares. There are still 598 barracks left, which accommodate residents waiting for a roof. The factories located in the commune and other neighbouring areas attract a large population, which is housed in a vast low-income housing programme built in 1959 on the Gonfreville plateau. In this ensemble, the ancient remains seem lost: a superb hexagonal black flint dovecote forms a curious couple with the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Consolation, which dominates the flares of the industrial valley.

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