English Way

Owned by the Department

Museums of France

Miscellaneous

Crédit photo : Tonton Bernardo - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes

Révolution/Empire

XIXe siècle

Époque contemporaine

1700

1800

1900

2000

1730

Initial path

1775

Paving and repair

7 juillet 1810

British take of island

14 mars 2014

Historical monument classification

Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The entire road, eleven kilometres long from the barrier located at Saint-Bernard to that of La Possession, excluding the right-of-way located between the two accesses of the road to the Grande-Chaloupe (on the Saint-Denis side and on the La Possession side) (not cadastralized): inscription by order of 14 March 2014

Key figures

Pierre-Benoît Dumas - Governor of La Reunion	Signatory of the 1730 Convention.
Honoré de Crémont - Director of La Réunion	Ordained the renovation in 1775.
Pierre Boisson et Abraham Muron - Contractors	Responsible for initial construction.

Origin and history

Crémont Road, also known as the English Way, is an iconic hiking trail on the island of La Réunion, located between Saint-Denis and La Possession. Originally traced in 1730 to connect the city centre of La Possession to the Saint-Bernard place at Saint-Denis, it was roughly paved with basalt from 1775. This eleven-kilometre route, along the cliff of the northwest coast, crosses several gullies, including that of the Grande Chaloupe, and is the oldest road on the island according to the water office of Reunion.

Prior to 1730, the link between Saint-Denis and Saint-Paul was carried out only by sea. An agreement signed on June 16, 1730 between Governor Pierre-Benoît Dumas, Pierre Boisson and Abraham Muron launched the work, led by 60 slaves and delivered in 1735. The path was improved in 1775 under the impulse of Honoré de Crémont, who gave him his first name. Its name "of the English" comes from its use by the British during the capture of Saint-Denis in July 1810, during the Napoleonic wars.

Abandoned under the Restoration for the benefit of a new route, the road was listed as historical monuments on 14 March 2014. Today, owned by the department, there is still a major testimony of colonial history and a place of memory, while being a popular route for hiking. Its historical layout, excluding a portion of the Grande Chaloupe, is fully protected.