"Les Clayes sous Bois - History " a Les Clayes-sous-Bois Travel Page by rinnywee

A hamlet which became a seignorial residence, the village of Les Clayes has experiences the harsh life of serfs crushed under the weights of taxes paid to the Abbesse of Saint Cyr, beggars found dead from hunger or cold and the annals of mundane life. Even if there only remains ruins of the old castle, it's easy to imagine the time when it's two most illustrious mistresses, Anne de Pisseleu and Diane de Poitiers lived there. When the Revolution struck in 1789, the village of Les Clayes only had around one hundred residents.

During the 19th century, the rural village evolved slowly, and stayed sparsely populated until the First World War. The Second World War, in which the Mayor Henro Prou was arrested, was a time of privations and resistance. The 60s saw the town grow with social housing, schools, gymnasiums and roads being developed. Nothing but change and upheaval for a town which was known as Cleta during the time of the Carnutes (a Celtic tribe)...

The history of this town is intimately linked to the history of France. The hamlet was placed on one of the grand routes, leading to another major route which allowed, 500 years before Roman occupation, to travel all through Gaul, from the British Isles to the mediterraneans lands.

Clorac was the celtic name given by the first inhabitants, the Carnutes, and was a fortified farm which opened the passage between Plezir and the hamlets which covered the six kilometres separating the village and it's bretèche which is now known as Le Bretéchelle, which were the defences for the village Neauphle le Château.

The Romans changed the original name Clorac to Cleta, latin word meaning a small barrier made from wicker branches or interlaced tree branches, which can be seen on the town coat of arms. The first Lord, Simon de Cloyes, moved to the village in 1118.

Under Philippe VI de Valois in 1341, the town was known as "Escleux", and then under Louis XII "Eclois" and under Henri II in 1550 "Clayette".

After this there are many variants in the spelling but all with the same pronunciations: "Clais" in 1578, "Claix" in 1680, and "Claits" in the 19th century. In 1654 some official documents carried the name "Clayes".

Finally, in a hearing of the town council on June 15 1929, the Mayor Mr Camion proposed that the town be called "Les Clayes sous Bois" due to frequent errors with letters and telegrams ("Les Clayes" being confused with other towns such as "Clayes-Souilly", "Mitry-Clayes" etc.). This proposition was accepted by the President of the Republic Paul Doumer in July 27 1931.

Three châteaux have existed on the territory of Les Clayes.

The domain of Les Clayes belonged to, over the course of centuries, great officers of the French crown and members of the Parisian parliament. On different occasions, it was also part of the Royal Domain of Ile de France. It is still possible to find, in the adjoining forest, boundary stones imprinted with the Fleur de Lys of French kings, indicating that the forest once belonged to the District of the Royal Hunt.