Column of William the Conqueror, Stele and column in Houlgate, Normandy, France
The Colonne Guillaume le Conquérant is a stone stele on the beach of Houlgate, a coastal town in Normandy, France. It stands in the open air directly by the sea, with sand and water on all sides.
The column was erected in 1862 to mark the departure of William, Duke of Normandy, toward England in 1066, a campaign that ended with the Battle of Hastings. It was first placed on private land and moved to the beach in 1966, on the 900th anniversary of that battle.
The column stands on the beach at Houlgate and serves as a natural stopping point for walkers along the shore. Many visitors photograph it with the sea behind it, drawn by the contrast between the plain stone and the open Norman coastline.
The stele stands directly on the beach and can be visited at any time without any admission requirement. It fits naturally into a walk along the shore, as it sits in the open with no barriers or fencing around it.
The column was originally inaugurated by Arcisse de Caumont, a historian considered one of the founders of modern heritage conservation in France. The fact that a memorial of this kind was raised through a scholar's initiative rather than a state decision was unusual for that era.
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