Edward III Crosses the Seine at Poissy 1346

The invasion army of Edward III reached Poissy, 15 miles from Paris, on the left bank of the Seine on the 13th of August 1346. Philip VI of France had destroyed all the bridges along the Seine, including the 12th century stone bridge at Poissy, hoping to cut off Edward's advance. However, with Edward entering Poissy, Philip ordered the town's evacuation and the garrison's removal to Saint-Cloud.1

The priory church at Poissy had been founded by Edward's grandfather Philip IV of France and Edward ordered that it was spared from destruction, and Edward rested in Philip's newly built palace. However, the Collegiate church of Notre-Dame where St Louis was baptised suffered damage.2

The following day (14th of August 1346) the English engineers had rebuilt the bridge, felling 60ft trees to span the gaps between the spans, over which the English army and carts crossed the Seine. The army remained until the 16th of August, when they headed north towards the Somme leaving Poissy in flames, and destroying the bridge behind them.3

The stone bridge was rebuilt in 1357 and destroyed again during the second world war.

• 1. Sumption, J. Trial by Battle - The Hundred Years War I. (Faber and Faber, 1990). p517.
• 2. Ormrod, M. W. Edward III. Yale English Monarchs Series (Yale University Press, 2011). pp275-276.
• 3. Sumption, J. Trial by Battle - The Hundred Years War I. (Faber and Faber, 1990). p518.