Pont de la Bellassière, Crécy-Couvé, Saulnières

Pont de la Bellassière is a historic bridge straddling the boundary between Crécy-Couvé and Saulnières, in the Eure-et-Loir department, right where the Beauce plain meets the wooded Perche countryside. It won't top anyone's must-see list for the region, but it's a rewarding stop for travelers exploring the Dreux area who enjoy tracking down quieter pieces of local industrial and road history.

Where exactly is the bridge located?

The Pont de la Bellassière crosses the Blaise, a small river running through this part of Eure-et-Loir. It carries the D310 departmental road directly across the administrative boundary between Crécy-Couvé and Saulnières, which is why it gets associated with both villages depending on the source. The nearest sizeable town is Dreux, a short drive to the north, making the bridge easy to fold into a wider day out in this corner of the region.

What is the history behind the bridge?

The structure dates to the second half of the 18th century and was listed as a monument historique in 1993, a formal recognition of its value as a surviving piece of the region's older road infrastructure. Bridges from this period were typically built in stone, sturdy enough to handle foot and cart traffic as well as the periodic flooding of small rivers like the Blaise. For the surrounding farming communities, the bridge served a very practical purpose for generations: linking fields and hamlets on either bank and providing access to the mill just downstream.

What else is worth seeing nearby?

A short walk from the bridge, on a channel fed by the Blaise, stands the Moulin de la Bellassière, a grain mill whose origins reach back to the medieval period. Together, the bridge and the mill form a small but coherent historic ensemble that shows how the river once powered the local economy in this pocket of Eure-et-Loir. It's a good illustration of how rural infrastructure — bridge, channel, mill — tended to be built as a single working system rather than as separate, unrelated structures.

The surrounding countryside around Crécy-Couvé and Saulnières is classic borderland scenery: open Beauce farmland gradually giving way to the gentler hills and woodland of Perche. For anyone driving through Eure-et-Loir, the bridge makes a natural waypoint on the route between the smaller villages around Dreux and the better-known destinations further west, deeper into Perche.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Pont de la Bellassière officially protected as a heritage site? Yes, it has been listed as a monument historique since 1993.

Which river does the bridge cross? It crosses the Blaise, a small river in the Eure-et-Loir department.

Is there anything else to see close to the bridge? Yes, the Moulin de la Bellassière, a former grain mill on a channel fed by the Blaise, stands just a short distance away.

Does the bridge belong to Crécy-Couvé or Saulnières? It sits directly on the boundary between the two communes, which is why it's linked to both in different sources.