Catenay is a small commune in Seine-Maritime, in the Seine-et-Bray countryside and the Crevon valley. Insee counted 702 residents in the commune’s municipal population in 2023; the municipality covers 588 hectares and calls its residents Castenais. The river Crevon and a network of lanes and marked paths give the village a green, rural character, while BANATIC places it in the Rouen living basin and the Inter-Caux-Vexin community of communes. That combination makes Catenay a quiet base for walking and local heritage rather than a stand-alone resort.
The municipal history page records a parish and seigneurie in the twelfth century. It says the early church, dedicated to Notre-Dame, was given in 1180 by Osberne de Cailly to the Saint-Lô priory of Rouen; it also notes that some accounts attach the parish first to Crevon. The current church is identified as Saint-Clair. According to the commune, an earlier building burned and the church was rebuilt in 1876; it preserves alabaster medallions and windows depicting episodes from the life of Mary. The same municipal page tells the story of Saint Clair’s refusal of a princess and his beheading as a legend, not as documented local history. It also records that Nabi painter Ker-Xavier Roussel lived in Catenay in the early twentieth century and painted scenes of the surrounding area.
Walking is the clearest way to connect the village to its setting. Catenay’s municipal route page lists the blue-marked Crevon circuit, no. 6, at 9.5 kilometres from the collegiate church in Blainville-Crevon. It follows the GR 25 toward Catenay, continues by a rural path to the Crevon hamlet and returns via Houlmesnil. The official Inter-Caux-Vexin route listing gives a closely related loop at about 9.8 kilometres, with roughly 154 metres of ascent. A second, green-marked “châteaux” route is listed at 15.5 kilometres, linking Bierville, Mondétour, Catenay, Montlambert and Fontaine-Châtel. Treat the published route sheets as planning aids: check current waymarks, access and ground conditions, and respect farms, private property and seasonal hunting notices.
The chestnut is part of Catenay’s civic identity, though its proposed connection to the name Castanetum is explicitly presented by the municipality as a hypothesis. The annual chestnut and autumn-flavours festival has a more concrete record: local accounts document food and craft stalls, roasted chestnuts, volunteers and a walk as part of recent editions. The 2019 France 3 report and the town’s newsletter preserve one edition, while the municipal page describes the 2022 event. Confirm the next date rather than assuming a fixed programme.
Insee counted 55 jobs located in the commune in 2023 and nine employer establishments active at the end of 2024, including activity in agriculture, construction, services and public or educational work. These figures describe defined statistical categories, not every local livelihood. The municipality lists a primary school and public library; its current notices give library hours on Monday evening and Wednesday afternoon. Town-hall schedules differ between the municipal contact page and the Service-Public directory, so call ahead before relying on an office visit. For wider services, Catenay belongs to the Rouen living basin; check current transport and opening information for each destination.
