Essay, Orne

Essay
Essay
Commune
	The church in Essay
	Location of Essay
	Essay Location within France Essay Location within Normandy
	Coordinates: 48°32′30″N 0°14′52″E / 48.5417°N 0.2478°E
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Alençon
Canton	Écouves
Intercommunality	Sources de l'Orne
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pascale Leroy
Area 1	15.99 km2 (6.17 sq mi)
Elevation	160 m (520 ft)
Highest elevation	206 m (676 ft)
Lowest elevation	141 m (463 ft)
Population (2023)	556
• Density	34.8/km2 (90.1/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	61156 /61500
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Essay (French pronunciation: [ɛsɛ] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. The town is mainly known nowadays for its motorsports tracks, and hosted a round of the 2011 European Rallycross Championship.

Geography

Essay is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, Beaufossé, Montperroux, Echuffley and La Renouillère.

The commune is in the Normandie-Maine Regional Natural Park.

A river, La Vézone, flows through the commune.

Notable buildings and places

Le circuit des Ducs - is a racing circuit that was built in 1975. The circuit that has been used to stage a round of the French rallycross championship and Fol'Car races.

National heritage sites

The commune has two buildings/areas listed as a Monument historique.

Domaine de Beaufossé is an 18th-century house and estate, declared as a Monument historique in 2001. The gardens of the estate were landscaped by Henri and Achille Duchêne. The estate grounds are shared with the neighbouring commune of Boitron.
Chapel of the Dukes of Alençon is a 12th-century chapel that was part of a castle originally built by William of Bellême in 1088. It was listed as a monument in 1975.

Notable people

Marie d'Alençon (1373 – 1417) a French noblewoman, a Princess of the Blood, and the wife of Jean VII of Harcourt was born here.
John I, Duke of Alençon (1385 – 1415), a French nobleman was born here.
François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688–1751) was a French riding master and one of the most influential writers on the art of dressage, was born here.
Charles Éléonor Dufriche-Valazé (1751 - 1793) jurist, lawyer, and politician of the French Revolution was the first mayor of Essay in 1790.
Pierre Louis Roederer - (1754 –1835) a French politician, economist, and historian became mayor here in 1830.

References

↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
↑ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
1 2 "Google Maps". Google Maps.
↑ "rapport de charte" (PDF), parc-naturel-normandie-maine.fr/
↑ "Fiche cours d'eau - la Vézone (M0034000)". Sandre. SandreM0034000.
↑ "Circuit des Ducs (Essay) - Informations". en.europatrackdays.com.
↑ "Rallycross. Premier feu vert pour le circuit des Ducs, le championnat de France espéré en 2024". actu.fr. 25 March 2023.
↑ "Ce qu'il faut savoir avant le Fol'Car des Ducs, samedi 25 et dimanche 26 mars". actu.fr. 23 March 2023.
↑ "Les Monuments Historiques en Orne - 61". monumentum.fr.
1 2 "Domaine de Beaufossé (également sur commune de Boitron) à Essay - PA61000055". monumentum.fr.
↑ "Domaine de Beaufossé à Boitron - PA61000054". monumentum.fr.
1 2 "Chapelle des ducs d'Alençon à Essay - PA00110801". monumentum.fr.
↑ "Capet". MedLands, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
↑ "Alençon (duché)" (PDF). Racines & Histoire. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
↑ Daniel, Roche. "François Robichon de la Guérinière". FranceArchives.
↑ "Valazé, premier maire d'Essay, premier député de l'Orne à la Convention nationale. · Bibliographie d'histoire du droit en langue française · Bibliographie numérique d'histoire du droit". bibliographienumeriquedhistoiredudroit-ifg.univ-lorraine.fr.
↑ Orne territoires 2019 (PDF) (PDF) (in French), Département de l’Orne, 2019, retrieved 29 June 2026
↑ "Pierre-Louis Roederer (1754-1835)". data.bnf.fr.

External links

Local motor sports

This Arrondissement of Alençon geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[1] "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.

[2] "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.

[gmap-3] 1 2 "Google Maps". Google Maps.

[4] "rapport de charte" (PDF), parc-naturel-normandie-maine.fr/

[5] "Fiche cours d'eau - la Vézone (M0034000)". Sandre. SandreM0034000.

[6] "Circuit des Ducs (Essay) - Informations". en.europatrackdays.com.

[7] "Rallycross. Premier feu vert pour le circuit des Ducs, le championnat de France espéré en 2024". actu.fr. 25 March 2023.

[8] "Ce qu'il faut savoir avant le Fol'Car des Ducs, samedi 25 et dimanche 26 mars". actu.fr. 23 March 2023.

[9] "Les Monuments Historiques en Orne - 61". monumentum.fr.

[mh1-10] 1 2 "Domaine de Beaufossé (également sur commune de Boitron) à Essay - PA61000055". monumentum.fr.

[11] "Domaine de Beaufossé à Boitron - PA61000054". monumentum.fr.

[mh2-12] 1 2 "Chapelle des ducs d'Alençon à Essay - PA00110801". monumentum.fr.

[13] "Capet". MedLands, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Retrieved 25 March 2026.

[14] "Alençon (duché)" (PDF). Racines & Histoire. Retrieved 25 March 2026.

[15] Daniel, Roche. "François Robichon de la Guérinière". FranceArchives.

[16] "Valazé, premier maire d'Essay, premier député de l'Orne à la Convention nationale. · Bibliographie d'histoire du droit en langue française · Bibliographie numérique d'histoire du droit". bibliographienumeriquedhistoiredudroit-ifg.univ-lorraine.fr.

[17] Orne territoires 2019 (PDF) (PDF) (in French), Département de l’Orne, 2019, retrieved 29 June 2026

[18] "Pierre-Louis Roederer (1754-1835)". data.bnf.fr.