Notre Dame de Cenilly
We live in a 17th century cottage in a small hamlet La Noslière de Bas in open countryside 2 km from the village of Notre Dame de Cenilly which is a small village on the crossroads of the D38 and D29, Previously part of the canton of Cerisy-la-Salle in the Manche Département (50), it is now part of the canton of Quettreville-sur-Sienne (cantons have been regrouped in 2015).
It is in the centre of the Cotentin peninsular, and is well placed for access to the beautiful beaches on the West coast, the D-Day beaches on the North coast and is in the middle of an area known as les petites vallées (the little valleys). Ville de Notre-Dame-De-Cenilly has some pages of local information (in French) and there is more on Cerisy-la-Salle - Travel Guide, Tourist Information. There are also several sites with local weather conditions and forecasts. The nearest large towns are Coutances and St-Lô.
There are two shops, a bar/restaurant and a garage:
Boulangerie (Bakery)
Epicierie (Grocery) which also has a bar and a cave (wine cellar) It sells fresh veg and a selection of meat and charcuterie as well as a range of normal household supplies.
Bar/Restaurant (meals at lunch-time only, but superb quality) selss tobacco and has a Post-Office corner
Garage with petrol (95 lead-free) and diesel pumps and a workshop: also sells second-hand cars, .
it is now part of the canton of Quettreville-sur-Sienne has a wider selection of shops: two bakers, a butcher, a bar, a florist, a mini-supermarket which sells fresh milk, a hardware and electrical goods shop, two hairdressers and two garages, one of which sells petrol and diesel.
Cerisy-la-Salle has a wider selection of shops, two bakers, a butcher, a bar, a florist, a mini-supermarket which sells fresh milk, a hardware and electrical goods shop, two hairdressers and a garage which has a workshop and sells petrol and diesel.
It is in the centre of the Cotentin peninsular, and is well placed for access to the beautiful beaches on the West coast, the D-Day beaches on the North coast and is in the middle of an area known as les petites vallées (the little valleys). Ville de Notre-Dame-De-Cenilly has some pages of local information (in French) and there is more on Cerisy-la-Salle - Travel Guide, Tourist Information. There are also several sites with local weather conditions and forecasts. The nearest large towns are Coutances and St-Lô.
There are two shops, a bar/restaurant and a garage:
Boulangerie (Bakery)
Epicierie (Grocery) which also has a bar and a cave (wine cellar) It sells fresh veg and a selection of meat and charcuterie as well as a range of normal household supplies.
Bar/Restaurant (meals at lunch-time only, but superb quality) selss tobacco and has a Post-Office corner
Garage with petrol (95 lead-free) and diesel pumps and a workshop: also sells second-hand cars, .
it is now part of the canton of Quettreville-sur-Sienne has a wider selection of shops: two bakers, a butcher, a bar, a florist, a mini-supermarket which sells fresh milk, a hardware and electrical goods shop, two hairdressers and two garages, one of which sells petrol and diesel.
Cerisy-la-Salle has a wider selection of shops, two bakers, a butcher, a bar, a florist, a mini-supermarket which sells fresh milk, a hardware and electrical goods shop, two hairdressers and a garage which has a workshop and sells petrol and diesel.
Fête St Clair
The Fète St Clair is the annual village festival held at the end of July. There is a vide-greniers on the Saturday and various children's events and festivities on the Sunday, sometimes ending with a grand firework display, In recent austere times events have had to be scaled down, but there is always at least one exhibition and music by the local bands.
Fête St Clair 2007
Fête St Clair 2010
National pedal-car championships 2012
This competition was held in N D de Cenilly in 2012 attracting entries in a wide range of categories. The race covered a 3 km course through the streets and back lanes: part of the village was closed to through traffic. Each car had an allocated "pit", a support team and up to four drivers. Before the race, each team performed a short display (based on the theme of their car) judged by on-lookers on 10 criteria, including the car. As well as a prize for this, there was an élite prize for the car which completed the most laps in two hours. Entries for the latter came from all over France and the cars reached amazing speeds.
Fête St Clair 2007
Fête St Clair 2010
National pedal-car championships 2012
This competition was held in N D de Cenilly in 2012 attracting entries in a wide range of categories. The race covered a 3 km course through the streets and back lanes: part of the village was closed to through traffic. Each car had an allocated "pit", a support team and up to four drivers. Before the race, each team performed a short display (based on the theme of their car) judged by on-lookers on 10 criteria, including the car. As well as a prize for this, there was an élite prize for the car which completed the most laps in two hours. Entries for the latter came from all over France and the cars reached amazing speeds.
World War II
German Occupation (1940-1944)
Souvenirs de Normandie is an account (in French) by Denise Wolnerman of her time as a young Jewish refugee in Normandy. Born in 1936, she started school in Paris 1942 and was already forced to wear a yellow star. Already aware of the danger represented to Jews by German soldiers, she.was sent to Normandy. This is her own story (with photographs) of her evacuation to Normandy and her time in N D de Cenilly from March 1943 to September 1944 (i.e. before and after the D-Day landings in June 1944).
D-Day (June 6th 1944)
On 6th June 1944 a Lancaster bomber of the Royal Australian Air Force was shot down in Cerisy-la-Salle. None of the seven crew survived. The pilot was Australian, the crew British. Each year, on the first Sunday in June, there is a ceremony at the memorial to the crew.
Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 8 June 2014)
Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 7 June 2015)
Liberation: July 1944
Between 23rd and 27th July 1944, there was fierce fighting as the US 2nd Armored Division moved South down the D38, liberating local villages one by one. Notre Dame de Cenilly was liberated on 24th July and Roncey on the 27th. The 70th anniversary celebrations for the villages in the canton took place in Roncey on 27th July 2014. On Wednesday 2 September 2009 we had a visit by nine veterans who were part of the US 2nd Armored Division and their families. The visit formed part of the 65th Anniversary Veterans Liberation Tour in France, Belgium and the Netherlands and was the last formal event of the tour.
Visit of US 2nd Armored Division veterans (September 2009)
Unveiling of new monument (13 June 2015)
Unveiling on 13 June 2015 of new monument to American soldiers killed during the liberation of Notre Dame de Cenilly and surrounding villages 24 - 28 July 1944
Souvenirs de Normandie is an account (in French) by Denise Wolnerman of her time as a young Jewish refugee in Normandy. Born in 1936, she started school in Paris 1942 and was already forced to wear a yellow star. Already aware of the danger represented to Jews by German soldiers, she.was sent to Normandy. This is her own story (with photographs) of her evacuation to Normandy and her time in N D de Cenilly from March 1943 to September 1944 (i.e. before and after the D-Day landings in June 1944).
D-Day (June 6th 1944)
On 6th June 1944 a Lancaster bomber of the Royal Australian Air Force was shot down in Cerisy-la-Salle. None of the seven crew survived. The pilot was Australian, the crew British. Each year, on the first Sunday in June, there is a ceremony at the memorial to the crew.
Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 8 June 2014)
Lancaster bomber crew (Memorial Ceremony 7 June 2015)
Liberation: July 1944
Between 23rd and 27th July 1944, there was fierce fighting as the US 2nd Armored Division moved South down the D38, liberating local villages one by one. Notre Dame de Cenilly was liberated on 24th July and Roncey on the 27th. The 70th anniversary celebrations for the villages in the canton took place in Roncey on 27th July 2014. On Wednesday 2 September 2009 we had a visit by nine veterans who were part of the US 2nd Armored Division and their families. The visit formed part of the 65th Anniversary Veterans Liberation Tour in France, Belgium and the Netherlands and was the last formal event of the tour.
Visit of US 2nd Armored Division veterans (September 2009)
Unveiling of new monument (13 June 2015)
Unveiling on 13 June 2015 of new monument to American soldiers killed during the liberation of Notre Dame de Cenilly and surrounding villages 24 - 28 July 1944