Banneville-sur-Ajon

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]

Banneville-sur-Ajon
Part of Malherbe-sur-Ajon
The Chapel of Saint Clair
Location of Banneville-sur-Ajon
Banneville-sur-Ajon Show map of France Banneville-sur-Ajon Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°03′49″N 0°34′07″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Vire
Canton	Les Monts d'Aunay
Commune	Malherbe-sur-Ajon
Area 1	5.63 km2 (2.17 sq mi)
Population  (2019)[1]	438
• Density	78/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	14260
Elevation	84–184 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.

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]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 508 —     1800 530 +0.61% 1806 524 −0.19% 1821 475 −0.65% 1831 441 −0.74% 1836 458 +0.76% 1841 439 −0.84% 1846 414 −1.17% 1851 412 −0.10% 1856 406 −0.29% 1861 380 −1.31% 1866 375 −0.26% 1872 362 −0.59% 1876 354 −0.56% 1881 362 +0.45% 1886 347 −0.84% 1891 331 −0.94% 1896 314 −1.05%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 315 +0.06% 1906 290 −1.64% 1911 273 −1.20% 1921 255 −0.68% 1926 259 +0.31% 1931 243 −1.27% 1936 265 +1.75% 1946 233 −1.28% 1954 243 +0.53% 1962 216 −1.46% 1968 211 −0.39% 1975 224 +0.86% 1982 346 +6.41% 1990 360 +0.50% 1999 389 +0.86% 2007 394 +0.16% 2012 383 −0.56%
Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE[9]

Sites and monuments

The Church of Saint-Melaine

• 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.

Chapel Picture Gallery

• 
  The Chapel of Saint Clair
• 
  A Detail in the Chapel
• 
  The Chapel
• 
  Detail on the Chapel
• 
  The door handle of the Chapel

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department

References

1. Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019, INSEE
2. Arrêté préfectoral 9 December 2015 (in French)
3. 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)

External links

• Benneville fur Ajon on the 1750 Cassini Map