Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Dieppe

DIEPPE (dē-ep'), a seaport town of France, department of Seine-Inférieure, on the English Channel, at the embouchure of the Arques, 93 miles N. N. W. of Paris. Almost the only public edifices worth special notice are the two Gothic churches, St. Jacques, begun in the 13th century, and St. Rémi, founded in 1522, and the old castle (1433), now a barrack. To the W. of Dieppe proper is the suburb La Barre; and on the opposite side of the harbor La Pollet, inhabited chiefly by sailors and fishermen. The port is spacious, admitting vessels of 1,200 tons burden; but it cannot be entered at low water. Dieppe is one of the chief watering places of France, and is much frequented by visitors in summer and autumn. The great bathing establishment forms a luxurious retreat for bathers and invalids, and includes a ball-room and other attractions. The manufactures include works in ivory, the most famed in Europe; works in horn and bone, lace-making, sugar-refining, ship-building, etc. There is a busy fishery, and the foreign trade is still considerable. There is constant steam intercourse between this port and Newhaven. In early times Dieppe was the chief port of France, but its prosperity diminished after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). Pop. about 25,000.