Once named Vuatreiras then Vitrerias, Route de Verrières whispers tales of glass. Is it just a name? No. It echoes a history rooted in the very earth beneath our feet.
La Verrière. The name itself means “place where glass is found”. Imagine this area centuries ago. This wasn’t just any land. The soil here is rich in siliceous sand. This is a key ingredient in glassmaking. Picture dense forests surrounding this place. They provided ample wood. This wood was an easy fuel source for glass production.
The lords of La Verrière shared these lands in the Middle Ages. They gathered around the Agiot farm and a castle built in 1507. Back then, La Verrière included a place called Le Mesnil-Saint-Denis. It wasn’t until 1739 that it became its own separate parish.
For a long time, La Verrière was a rural town. But everything changed with the arrival of the railway. This connected Versailles to Chartres. The La Verrière station was built in 1855. Emperor Napoleon III himself opened it. Parisians longing for the countryside flocked here.
Gardens sprang up near the station. Over time, these gardens became small houses due to a housing crisis in the 1930s. “Le village” became officially recognized in the 1930s. A town hall and school were built in 1936.
In 1952, the Mutuelle Générale de l’Éducation Nationale bought the Château de La Verrière and its grounds. In 1958, they built a psychiatric hospital. Today it is known as the Marcel Rivière Institute. The whole area began to urbanize. The MGEN built housing for its employees. The first public housing went up on Rue Marcel Rivière in 1962.
The Denis Forestier geriatrics center and the École Bleue were built. In 1968, a second public housing development by Orly-Parc appeared. In 1972, a new public housing area arose east of town. The Bois de l’Etang residence housed many Renault employees. They worked in Boulogne-Billancourt. La Verrière became part of the new town of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in 1973.
Look closely at the town’s symbols. Three lilies on a blue background. These represent the town’s ties to the royal domain. It shows its link to the province of Ile-de-France. It also signifies its connection to the Abbey of Saint-Denis.
The arms of the Séguier family. They were the first lords of La Verrière. The Templar banner reminds us that part of this land belonged to the Villedieu commandery. The shell symbolizes pilgrimages. It marks that a route to Santiago de Compostela passes through La Verrière.
The town hall. Built in 1934. Designed by municipal architect Alliot. It has a distinctive bell tower. The tower once held a clock. Its four faces showed the time in every direction. The current town hall. Rebuilt in 1995. It has a facade and bell tower rebuilt to look exactly the same. So when you think of Route de Verrières, remember glassmaking, railways and symbols.