Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher
Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography. The commune liest about southwest of Abbeville, at the junction of the national road N1 and the departmental road D32. Part of the old region of Ponthieu, the town is situated on a large plateau. Only the slightest undulation of the land is noticeable. 3 neighbourhoods can be distinguished: Ailly (the "centre") and the former hamlets of "Famechon" and "Alliel". History. The place name "Ailly" comes from the name "Alius", a Gallo-Roman, whose farm was located  at the site of the present cemetery, on the national road. Aerial photography can pick out the farm boundaries. “Haut-Clocher” refers to the “high steeple”, because of the arrow-shaped characteristic of the church spire, that was used as an observation and triangulation point by the cartographers in charge of creating the Cassini maps of France in 1760. Facilities and economical life. The town has a primary school, a high school and is equipped with several athletic facilities. Because this rural town is located on the roads serving Abbeville and Amiens, many locals work outside their community. In the  1930s, a factory making buttons of mother-of-pearl employed many Alliciens. Nowadays, economical life is reduced to two endive producers, mixed farming and a few craftsmen.