=Berméricourt.=--This hamlet, of Gallo-Frankish origin, was formerly more populous. The bombardments have literally wiped it out.
_From Berméricourt the tourist reaches_ =Orainville= _by G.C. 30, which becomes I.C. 2 after crossing the boundary line between the "departments" of the Marne and the Ardennes. At the entrance to the ruined village, near the church, turn to the right into I.C. 12, which, 1 kilometre further on, joins the road from Neufchâtel to Rheims (G.C. 9), where turn to the right._
_Follow this road for four and a half kilometres to the ruins of_ =Landau Farm=, _turn to the right, then, about 200 yards further on, take the road on the left to the_ village of Brimont, entirely destroyed.
[Illustration: ALL THAT REMAINS OF BERMÉRICOURT VILLAGE]
(_See Itinerary, p. 134, and summary of the Military Operations, p. 154._)
Situated to the west of the road from Rheims to Neufchâtel (formerly a Roman causeway which crossed the hill at _Cran de Brimont_) Brimont was already important in Roman times. It was fortified in the Middle Ages, and traces of its ancient fortifications are still to be found on the hill. The discovery of a Roman tomb in 1790 caused considerable excitement in archæological circles, as it was believed to be the burial-place of the Frankish Chief _Pharamond_ who, according to one chronicler, had been buried on a hillock near Rheims.
In 1339, during the siege of Rheims by the English, the Duke of Lancaster had his camp at Brimont.
[Illustration: RUINS OF BRIMONT VILLAGE _In the foreground, on the left: Road to Brimont Fort. On the right: Beginning of the road to the Château (entirely destroyed)._]
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH OF BRIMONT]
On several occasions, since September, 1914, the Germans deported the inhabitants of Brimont and Coucy to the Ardennes. The village is now destroyed and its church a heap of ruins.
The church was built at the beginning of the 15th century.
The four last bays of the nave, which was partly Romanesque, were altered in the middle of the 16th century.
The sacristy occupied the lower storey of the square, pointed-arch tower.
Several ancient statues were placed at the entrance to the Choir: _St Remi_, with a woman in late 15th century dress kneeling at his feet; a _Virgin_ offering grapes to the Infant Jesus in her arms (late 15th century) and a large _Christ Crucified_, dated from the middle of the 16th century. A beautiful 18th century _lectern_ of carved wood, representing an eagle standing on a massive three-sided pedestal of red and white marble, stood in front of the Choir.