If the etymology of the name _Renelle_ is doubtful, the utility of the
stream at least is not so. It supplies numerous tanneries, of which
there are still a great many in the street which bears its name. This
sort of industry is very ancient in Rouen, and has never been
established in any other part of the town. On the 22nd of march 1560,
the parliament issued an act, ordering all the tanners to remove their
establishments to the _Eau-de-Robec_; but, they said that they required
clear water to carry on their trade, and therefore, were allowed, by
order of the king, to remain on the Renelle. This rivulet comes from the
Gaalor spring, and flows from the fountain of the _Bailliage_, almost in
a straight line to the Seine, into which it falls.