Angeac-Champagne () is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.
Geography
Location and access Angeac-Champagne is a commune located in the west of the department of Charente, near Charente-Maritime, in Grande Champagne, the premier cru of cognac.
The commune is located 10 km south of Cognac, 6 km west of Segonzac, and 3 km east of Salles-d'Angles. Angoulême, the prefecture of Charente, is 35 km to the east. Angeac is also 9 km north of Archiac, 12 km south-west of Jarnac, and 19 km north-west of Saint-Hilaire.Orthodromic Distances prises from ACME Mapper
The commune does not lie on any main roads. The D731 road from Barbezieux to Cognac via Archiac, passes through the west of the commune. The village is served by the D150 from Germignac in the south-east and passes through the village before continuing north-east to join the D44 from Juillac-le-Coq to Roissac towards Cognac and Gensac-la-Pallue. A country road leads to the village of Salles-d'Angles and another to Genté in the north-west.IGN map on Géoportail
The nearest train station is at Cognac which is served by the TER between Angoulême, Saintes, and Royan.
Hamlets and localities There are many hamlets dotting the commune. In particular Roissac, located northeast of Angeac village, was an ancient parish, and the village is as important as Angeac.
The small village of Le Bois d'Angeac together with a small forest is located 1 km north-west of the village.Google Maps
Apart from a few small patches of forest the commune is entirely farmland
Neighbouring communes and villages
Geology and relief As with the whole left bank of the Charente between Angoulême and Cognac, this area is limestone dating from the Cretaceous period with Cuestas.
The commune is part of the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) chalky limestone area which occupies a large part of South Charente. There is also some Santonian rock on a small part of the northern border at Longées.
The Campanian cuesta passes through the commune. This escarpment starts in the west at Salles-d'Angles, passes the foot of the town of Genté, then runs through the whole department going east towards Bouteville, Jurignac, and Plassac-Rouffiac. In the commune the escarpment passes through the east as an inlier northeast of Roissac. It separates the north of the plain of Châteaubernard from Champagne to the south.BRGM map on Géoportail Infoterre Visualiser , BRGM website Paper Notice for Cognac, BRGM, Infoterre website, 20 November 2011
The highest point in the commune is at an altitude of 84 m located north-west of Roissac. Another high point of 83 m faces it to the east (topped by an IGN Survey marker). The lowest point is 17 m located in Pas de la Tombe on the south-west edge of the commune near Salles d'Angles. The commune mostly varies in height between 40 and 70 m above sea level.
Hydrography
The Ruisseau de la Motte, a small tributary of the river Né and thus a sub-tributary of the Charente, forms the commune boundary to the south. No other rivers pass through the commune but there are many pools in a valley west of the village and towards Roissac and some springs including the Three Stones east of Bois d'Angeac.
Climate The climate is oceanic Aquitaine.
Toponymy The word Angeac is derived from the Latin Andiacum or villa Andii meaning that the village was built around the property of a rich Gallo-Roman named Andius. The term Champagne was added to the name of the town in 1801 to distinguish it from its namesake Angeac-Charente. In Saintonge the term Champagne refers to a fertile plain of limestone. It is derived from the Latin campus meaning "field" or "plain".
The word Roissac is derived from the Latin Riatacum or villa Riatii meaning that the village was built around the property of a rich Gallo-Roman named Riatus.Jean-Marie Cassagne and Stéphane Seguin, Origins of the names of towns and villages of Charente, Jean-Michel Bordessoules, 1998, 311 pages, p. 14 and 229,
History Proto-historic circular Ditches exist in the areas of Penchant de Lorimont and Houme, with square and circular ones at a place called Les Chirons. Roman villas are said to be at Puits d'Angeac at Chabanne and there are some medieval remains at Branges.Christian Vernou, The Charente, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris, coll. "Archeological Map of Gaul", 1993, 253 p. (), p. 200-201
The remains of a Gallo-Roman villa possibly dating to the first half of the 9th century were found in 1904. It was a residence of Louis the Pious. These remains have disappeared.
Angeac was first a dependency of the Templars then passed to the Marquisate of Archiac then often changed hands. In 1239 Roissac passed to the House of Angoulême then at Barbezieux. By marriage Roissac became allied with Salles-d'Angles and Genté. The rights to the marshes resulted in brawls and lawsuits with the Lordship of Gademoulin.
The commune of Angeac was created in 1793 when it belonged to the Canton of Salles in district of Cognac and the Charente department. In 1801 it took the name of Champagne and was attached to the Canton de Segonzac.
The Roissac railway station was served from 1910 to 1939 by the Chemins de fer économiques des Charentes (Cheap Trains of Charente) with a metre gauge line from Cognac to Barbezieux with 3 return trips a day at a speed of 20 km/h. This line also served stations at Cognac, Genté, Segonzac, Juillac-le-Coq, Saint-Fort-sur-le-Né, Archiac, and Barbezieux.
Heraldry
Administration
List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France From To Name Party Position 2001 2008 Bernadette Jullien 2008 2020 Gérard Faurie ind. Lawyer 2020 2026 Lydie Blanc
Population The inhabitants of the commune are known as Angeacais or Angeacaises in French.Le nom des habitants du 16 - Charente, habitants.fr
Education The school is an educational inter-communal grouping between Angeac-Champagne and Salles-d'Angles. Angeac-Champagne has a kindergarten and Salles-d'Angles an elementary school.Academic Inspection of Charente website
Culture and heritage
The commune contains a very large number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments. Some of the more interesting sites are described below.
Civil heritage The Chateau de Roissac (18th century). The Chateau bears the date 1830 but it was a chateau built in the Middle Ages for the La Rochefoucauld family at the site of a Gallo-Roman villa. The present chateau was built for the Beauchamp family around 1770 and the date 1830 with the initials I.P. corresponds to the remains of the outbuildings. There are decorations and, especially in the living room, wood paneling adorned with paintings of birds, flowers, fruit, landscapes, a scene with a sower, Moses and the Tablets of the Law.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Duran S.A. Distillery (1968)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Fountain, Lavoir (Public Laundry), and drinking trough at Roissac.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée They are linked to François I who would have visited the Chateau de Roissac for hunting. The Girls' School at Roissac.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée A Watermill at La Motte (in ruins)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée joined to that of Saint-Fort-sur-le-Né. A Windmill at La Millière (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée A Manor at Lorimont (1831).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée According to Martin Civat it already existed in the 16th century and was rebuilt in the 19th century. It bears the inscription "FAIT EN 1831 CHAILLOU PAUL" (Made in 1831 Chaillou Paul). An Underground refuge (Antiquity).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée A staircase to the refuge has been identified but its location remains unknown. An Ancient Villa of Louis the Pious (Antiquity).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
The Logis d'Angeac Manor (1733).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée This is a manor that dates in part to the 16th century. When René de la Tour bought it in 1657 the house was to the north. The outbuildings are dated 1733. Another house was built to the west and rebuilt in the 19th century with outbuildings to the south. The entrance gate bears the date 1882.
The War Memorial (1920).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Town Hall (1897). The town hall was built in 1897 and 1898 by Locussol, an entrepreneur from Cognac, from the plans of the architect Lucien Roy also from Cognac.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée Farmhouses (15th - 20th century).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
Religious heritage
A Cemetery Cross (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Pinard Family Funeral Chapel (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Renaud Family Funeral Chapel (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Frapin Gimbelot Prioulat Family Funeral Chapel (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Cemetery (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The Parish Church of Saint-Vivien (11th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The church was built in the 11th century and partly rebuilt in 1534 then repaired at the expense of the priest, Jean Marcus, in 1748 then restored again in 1864. Finally it was vaulted in 1875. It is elongated like a ship and covered by a ribbed vault. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: The Furniture in the ChurchMinistry of Culture, Palissy A Bronze Bell (1783)Ministry of Culture, Palissy 2 Vases (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy Ministry of Culture, Palissy 2 Monstrances (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Paten (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Chalice (1884)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Stoup (1874)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Baptismal font (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Pulpit (1879)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Secondary Altar and Tabernacle (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy The main Altar and Tabernacle (1897)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Stained glass window (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Stained glass window of Saint Theresa of Lisieux (1947)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Stained glass window of Saint Francis of Sales (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy A Stained glass window of Saint Joseph, Virgin, and child (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy 2 Stained glass windows (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy 2 Stained glass windows of Saints Peter and Paul (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy 3 Stained glass figures (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Palissy
See also Communes of the Charente department
References
External links Angeac-Champagne on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website Angeac-Champagne on the 1750 Cassini Map