Argences
Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox French commune
Argences ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. It is in the urban area of Caen, 15 kilometres from the city.
The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.<ref>Argences in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom Template:Webarchive Template:In lang</ref>
GeographyEdit
Argences is some 15 km south-east of Caen and 1 km north of Moult. Access to the commune is by the D37 road from Saint-Pair in the north passing through the commune and the town and continuing to Moult in the south. The D41 road goes east from the town to join the D613 to Caen at Vimont. The D80 road also goes north-east from the town to Saint-Pierre-du-Jonquet. Apart from the town there are also the hamlets of Le Fresne to the north, Le Mesnil in the north-east, and Le Croix de Moult south of the town. The commune consists of a large residential area in the town with a large forest in the north-east (the Bois de Saint-Gilles) with small scattered forests but mostly farmland.<ref name=Google>Google Maps</ref>
The Muane river flows through the town and the commune from south to north.
HistoryEdit
In 989, Richard I of Normandy donated land to the Abbey of Fécamp for the curates of Mondeville and Argences. From that date, the domain of Mondeville was managed as an ecclesiastical fief by the Barony of Argences. During the ducal era the wines of Argences were highly regarded.<ref>Jean Renaud, The Vikings and Normandy, éditions Ouest-France université, 1989. Template:In lang</ref>
In 1912, the large tile factory at Fresne built a railway line 4 km long connecting Argences to Moult-Argences Station in Moult on the Paris-Cherbourg line. The line from Argences was closed in 1931 and the nearest station is now Moult-Argences (TER Basse-Normandie).
On 16 April 1942, a group of resistance fighters derailed a Maastricht-Cherbourg train two kilometres from Moult-Argences station in Airan commune causing 28 dead and 19 wounded - all German soldiers. On 30 April of that year, in revenge for German retaliation, a new derailment of the same train killed 10 German soldiers and wounded 22 others.<ref>The double derailment at Moult-Argences and the hostages of Calvados, Claudine Cardon-Hamet Template:In lang</ref>
HeraldryEdit
AdministrationEdit
List of Mayors<ref>List of Mayors of France Template:In lang</ref> Template:Hidden begin
From | To | Name | Party | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
1790 | 1791 | Pierre Michel Gouget | ||
1791 | 1792 | André Pierre Duval-Destin | ||
1792 | 1794 | Robert Lesage | ||
1794 | 1795 | Nicolas Guillaume Moulin | ||
1795 | 1796 | Pierre Robert Caillouie | ||
1796 | 1797 | Joseph Bornet | ||
1797 | 1798 | Jean Mathieu Duport | ||
1798 | 1799 | Joseph Bornet | ||
1799 | 1799 | Nicolas Guillaume Moulin | ||
1799 | 1800 | André Halbique | ||
1800 | 1806 | Pierre Duval-Destin | ||
1806 | 1808 | Pierre Robert Cailloue | ||
1808 | 1812 | François Huillard | ||
1812 | 1815 | Ferdinand Desessarts | ||
1815 | 1826 | Nicolas Moulin | ||
1826 | 1828 | Jean Baptiste Honore | ||
1828 | 1830 | Jean Duport | ||
1830 | 1840 | Modeste Ancelle | ||
1840 | 1841 | Germain Lecharpertier | ||
1841 | 1843 | Jean Doublet | ||
1843 | 1859 | Modeste Ancelle | ||
1859 | 1871 | Armand Laville | ||
1871 | 1874 | Germain Lecharpertier | ||
1874 | 1874 | Armand Laville | ||
1874 | 1896 | Dominique Lecomte | ||
1896 | 1908 | Joseph Dalgot | ||
1908 | 1912 | Désiré Lepetit | ||
1912 | 1921 | André Gourmez | ||
1921 | 1929 | Clément Michel |
- Mayors from 1929
From | To | Name | Party | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
1929 | 1945 | Jean Hamel | ||
1945 | 1947 | Albert Frilley | ||
1947 | 1953 | Jean Hamel | ||
1953 | 1954 | René Maginier | ||
1954 | 1965 | André Plantain | ||
1965 | 1970 | Michel Jourdan | ||
1970 | 1971 | Georges Lemesle | ||
1971 | 1979 | Alfred Rouillard | ||
1979 | 1989 | Gilbert Deru | ||
1989 | 1995 | Jean-François Hamel | ||
1995 | 2001 | Gilbert Deru | ||
2001 | 2008 | Bernard Dufour | Retired ETF officer | |
2008 | 2023 | Dominique Delivet | LREM | Headmaster |
2023 | 2026 | Marie-Françoise Isabel |
PopulationEdit
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Argençais or Argençaises in French.<ref>Le nom des habitants du 14 - Calvados, habitants.fr</ref>
Template:Historical populations
EconomyEdit
The newspaper L'Echo de la Muance was published in Argences from 1896 to 1897.<ref>Jean Quellien et Christophe Mauboussin, Newspapers from 1786 to 1944, the adventure of the press in Basse-Normandie, Cahiers du Temps, 1998. Template:ISBN Template:In lang</ref>
Sites and monumentsEdit
- The Chateau of Fresne (1651)Template:Mérimée Icon is registered as an historical monument.<ref>Ministry of Culture, Mérimée Template:Mérimée Template:In langTemplate:Camera</ref>
- The Church of Saint-Jean was destroyed by bombing in 1944 and only the wall of the apse remains.
- The Moulin de la Porte (Mill of the door) where the wheel is powered by the Muance.
- The Lavoir (Public laundry) in the Rue de la Morte eau.
- The old Tuileries de Beauvais tile factory.
Argences picture galleryEdit
- Argences.JPG
General view of Argences
- FranceNormandieArgencesPlaceLeclercEtEglise.jpg
General Leclerc Square and the church
- Argences moulin de la Porte.JPG
The Moulin de la Porte
- Argences tuileries.JPG
The entrance to the Tuileries de Beauvais
Activities and eventsEdit
The association of rural families organizes dance classes for children and adults (beginners, modern dance, Fit'n dance).
Notable people linked to the communeEdit
- Dominique Lemesle (1951-2007): Assistant Football Referee - 1st French Division (1979-1982)
- François Fayt (1946-): composer.
- Yohann Eudeline (1982-), French footballer who played at the local football club until 2000.