The whole town has a modern aspect; its streets are wide aud regular, and its houses mostly built of brick. The principal building is the church of St Jacques, which was founded in the 13th century, but consists in good measure of considerably later workmanship, and has in some portions been restored in the present century; the main entrance (of the 14th century) and the Ango chapel are worthy of special remark. It is sufficient to mention the church of St Remi (1522-1640), the town-house, the hospital, the theatre, and the communal college which preserves some fragments of Ango’s mansion. As the chief town of an arrondissement, aud an important seaport, Dieppe is the seat of a large number of public offices. Its harbour, which has been greatly improved during the present century, is protected by two piers, admits vessels of 500 tons burden, and has a large floating dock. There is regular steamboat communication with England, the passage to Newhaven being accomplished in about six hours. The general trade of the town, both export and import, is extensive; and it carries on ship-building, rope-spinning, cooperage, watchmaking, and a remarkable manufacture of articles in ivory and bone, which dates from the 15th century. The tobacco factories alone employ upwards of 1000 work people. Oysters in large numbers are fattened in the retenue des chasses ; and the fishermen of Pollet are among the main providers of the Parisian markets. Ever since the time of the duchess of Berry (whose favourite residence, the maison Quenouille, is still pointed out) the town has been a fashionable watering-place; and in 1857 a large bathing establishment was erected after the model of the Crystal Palace. The so-called Jardin Anglais, the Cours Bourbon, and the cliffs are the principal promenades; and the castle of Arques, the Manoir d’Ango, the abbey of St Victor, and the ancient camp, locally known as la cité des Limes, are the most interesting objects of interest in the neighbourhood. Population in 1851, 16,216; and in 1872, 19,757.

It may be safely asserted, on the authority of its name, that Dieppe owed its origin to a band of Norman adventurers, who found its “diep” or inlet suitable for their ships. Its first castle was probably built in 1188 by Henry II. of England, and it was counted a place of some importance when Philip Augustus attacked it in 1195. By Richard I. of England it was bestowed, in 1197, on the archbishop of Rouen in return for certain territory in the neighbourhood of the episcopal city. In 1339 it was plundered by the English, but it soon recovered from the blow, and in spite of the opposition of the Lords of Hantot, managed to surround itself with fortifications. Its commercial activity was already great, and it is believed its seamen visited the coast of Guinea in 1339, and founded there a Petit Dieppe in 1365. A siege undertaken in 1442 by Talbot in person was raised by the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XL, and the day of the deliverance continued for centuries to be celebrated by a great procession and miracle plays. In the beginning of the 16th century we find Parmentier, a native of the town, taking vessels to Brazil and Sumatra; and a little later, its merchant pnπce, Ango, was able to blockade the Portuguese fleet in the Tagus. Its inhabitants in great numbers embraced the Reformed religion; and they were among the first to acknowledge Henry 1V., who fought one of his great bkttles at the neighbouring village of Arques. Few of the cities of France suffered more from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685; and this blow was followed in 1694 by a terrible bombardment on the part of the English and Dutch. The town was rebuilt after the peace of Ryswick, but the decrease of its population and the deterioration of its port prevented the restoration of its commercial prosperity. Within the present century, however, especially since communication by rail was effected with Paris, it has made rapid advances. During the Franco-German war the town was occupied by the Germans from December 1870 till July 1871.

See Pierre Pillon, Recueil général des édits, &c., donnez en faveur des habitants de Dieppe, Dieppe, 1700; Vitet, Histoire de Dieppe, 1844; Cochet, Les églises de farrondissement de Dieppe, 1846-1850, and Galerie Dieppoise, 1862; Jules Hardy, Les Dieppois en Guinée en 1364, 1864; Asseline, Les Antiquitez et Chroniques de la ville de Dieppe, a 17th century account, which comes down only to 1694, and was first published in 1874 by Hardy, Guerillon, and Sauvage.