Clerques

Clerques (French pronunciation: [klɛʁk]; West Flemish: Klarke) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France^[3] 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Saint-Omer, in the valley of the river Hem at the foot of the Boulonnais, which is a wooded ridge there. Two hamlets, Audenfort to the west and Le Hamel to the east, make up the remainder of the commune.

Clerques Klarke
Commune
The Sower and Saint-Barthélémy's church
Coat of arms
Location of Clerques
Clerques Show map of France Clerques Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°47′37″N 1°59′43″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Saint-Omer
Canton	Lumbres
Intercommunality	Pays de Lumbres
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Aurélien Dommanget[1]
Area 1	6.39 km2 (2.47 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	314
• Density	49.1/km2 (127/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62228 /62890
Elevation	37–173 m (121–568 ft) (avg. 47 m or 154 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	186	—
1975	180	−0.47%
1982	209	+2.16%
1990	215	+0.35%
1999	213	−0.10%
2007	249	+1.97%
2012	285	+2.74%
2017	327	+2.79%
Source: INSEE[4]

History

On 13 August 2006 the stone bridge in the village centre, built in 1862, was destroyed after exceptional rainfall upstream at Licques.^[5]

Transport

The Chemin de fer de Boulogne à Bonningues (CF de BB) opened a station at Audenfort, near Clerques, on 22 April 1900.^[6] Passenger services were withdrawn on 31 December 1935.^[7] They were reinstated in November 1942.^[8] The CF de BB closed in 1948.^[9]

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department