Banneville-sur-Ajon

Banneville-sur-Ajon
The Chapel of Saint Clair
Location of Banneville-sur-Ajon
Banneville-sur-Ajon
Banneville-sur-Ajon
Coordinates: 49°03′49″N 0°34′07″W / 49.0636°N 0.5686°W / 49.0636; -0.5686
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentCalvados
ArrondissementVire
CantonLes Monts d'Aunay
CommuneMalherbe-sur-Ajon
Area
1
5.63 km2 (2.17 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[1]
438
 • Density77.8/km2 (201/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code
14260
Elevation84–184 m (276–604 ft)
(avg. 141 m or 463 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Banneville-sur-Ajon is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Malherbe-sur-Ajon.[2]

Geography

Banneville-sur-Ajon is located some 20 km south-west of Caen and 7 km south-east of Villers-Bocage. Access to the commune is by the D121A from Saint-Agnan-le-Malherbe in the south which passes through the centre of the commune and the village and continues north to join the D8. The D171 from Landes-sur-Ajon to Préaux-Bocage passes through the north-east of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of La Fêterie in the south and Gournay in the north. The commune is almost all farmland.[3]

The Ajon river flows through the commune from south-east to north-west continuing to join the Odon south-west of Le Locheur. The Orgeuil river rises in the south of the commune and flows north-east through the length of the commune to join the Ajon. The Ruisseau de la Rette flows from the south to join the Orgeuil.[3]

Toponymy

Banneville-sur-Ajon was Barneville sur Ajon in 1371.[4] René Lepelley attributed the origin of the name to the Germanic anthroponym Benno[5] with the Old French suffix -ville meaning "rural domain".

Administration

List of Successive Mayors[6]

From To Name
1995 2001 Jacques Vahe
2001 2014 Annick Viel-Schneider
2014 2016 Marcel Pétré

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bannevillais or Bannevillaises in French.[7]

Sites and monuments

  • The Chapel of Saint-Clair (13th century) is registered as an historical monument.[10] The church is built on a simple rectangular plan. On the tympanum of the south portal there is a figure in bas-relief of Saint Samson on his throne, and inside is a statue of Saint Clair.
  • The Church of Saint-Melaine is in neo-Gothic style from the late 19th century.
  • A replica of the grotto of Lourdes was built at a place called Le Village at the end of the Second World War.

See also

References

  1. ^ Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019, INSEE
  2. ^ Arrêté préfectoral 9 December 2015 (in French)
  3. ^ a b c Google Maps
  4. ^ Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing, Etymological Dictionary of place names in France, Larousse, Paris, 1963 (in French)
  5. ^ René Lepelley, Etymological Dictionary of names of communes in Normandy, Éditions Charles Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau, 1996, BnF 36174448w, p. 58 (in French)
  6. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  7. ^ Le nom des habitants du 14 - Calvados, habitants.fr
  8. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Banneville-sur-Ajon, EHESS (in French).
  9. ^ Populations légales 2012, INSEE
  10. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00111031 Chapel of Saint-Clair (in French)