Clerques

Clerques (Klarke) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Geography
A small farming village situated 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Saint-Omer, on the D217 road, nestled in the valley of the river Hem at the foot of the Boulonnais, which is a wooded ridge at this point. Two hamlets, Audenfort to the west and Le Hamel to the East, make up the remainder of the commune.

History
The recent history of the village was marked by the flooding of the river, on August 13, 2006. The stone bridge in the village centre, built in 1862, was destroyed after exceptional rainfall upstream at Licques. The river, usually quiet, had accumulated such a speed it turned into an uncontrollable torrent.

Transport
The Chemin de fer de Boulogne à Bonningues (CF de BB) opened a station at Audenfort, near Clerques, on 22 April 1900. Passenger services were withdrawn on 31 December 1935. They were reinstated in November 1942. The CF de BB closed in 1948.

Places of interest

 * The church of St. Barthélemy, dating from the thirteenth century.
 * The chapel of St. Théresa
 * Audenfort mill, which ceased to operate in the 1970s, and is now converted into a hotel-restaurant
 * The former flour mill at Hamel, now a hydro-electric generator.
 * The new symbol of the village: The statue of the Sower, which symbolizes the friendship between the town of Clerques and the Belgian village of Klerken.