Barbery, Calvados

Barbery (French pronunciation: [baʁbəʁi] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.^[3]

Barbery
Commune
The old Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame
Coat of arms
Location of Barbery
Barbery Show map of France Barbery Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°00′38″N 0°21′09″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Caen
Canton	Le Hom
Intercommunality	Cingal-Suisse Normande
Government
• Mayor (2023–2026)	Luc Lebouvier[1]
Area 1	8.6 km2 (3.3 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	758
• Density	88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14039 /14220
Elevation	77–193 m (253–633 ft) (avg. 285 m or 935 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

The Lavoir (Public laundry) at Mesnil-Touffray

Barbery is located some 18 km south by south-east of Caen and 10 km east by north-east of Thury-Harcourt. Access to the commune is by the D131 road from Croisilles in the south-west which passes through the heart of the commune and the village before continuing north-east to Urville. The D23 comes from Cesny-Bois-Halbout in the south and passes through the village before continuing north to join Route nationale N158 at Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil. The D156A goes south-east from the village to Moulines. The D237 branches off the D131 in the east of the commune and goes south-east to join the D167 east of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of L'Abbaye, Faverolles, Le Londel, and Le Mesnil Touffray. The commune is entirely farmland.^[4][5]

The Ruisseau du Val Clair rises north of the village and flows north to join the Laize at Bretteville-sur-Laize. The Ruisseau de Corneville also rises north of the village, east of the Ruisseau du Val Clair, and flows north to join the Laize at Les Écluses.^[4]

History

During early medieval times Barbery and its abbey were under the control of the de Livet family.^[6]

Barbery appears as Barbery on the 1750 Cassini Map^[7] and the same on the 1790 version.^[8]

Heraldry

Arms of Barbery

Blazon: Azure, semy of billety Argent.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[9]

From	To	Name
1997	2001	Ferdinand Lecouvey
2001	2014	Alain Crocqueville
2014	2023	Guy Pislard
2023	2026	Luc Lebouvier

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barberigeois or Barberigeoises in French.^[10]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 795 —     1800 601 −3.92% 1806 680 +2.08% 1821 666 −0.14% 1831 647 −0.29% 1836 617 −0.95% 1841 633 +0.51% 1846 755 +3.59% 1851 759 +0.11% 1856 728 −0.83% 1861 686 −1.18% 1866 666 −0.59% 1872 600 −1.72% 1876 599 −0.04% 1881 590 −0.30% 1886 569 −0.72% 1891 539 −1.08% 1896 490 −1.89%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 465 −1.04% 1906 488 +0.97% 1911 416 −3.14% 1921 455 +0.90% 1926 419 −1.64% 1931 429 +0.47% 1936 435 +0.28% 1946 391 −1.06% 1954 431 +1.22% 1962 417 −0.41% 1968 390 −1.11% 1975 366 −0.90% 1982 497 +4.47% 1990 500 +0.08% 1999 524 +0.52% 2007 657 +2.87% 2012 789 +3.73% 2017 825 +0.90%
Source: EHESS[11] and INSEE[12]

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:

• The Petite-Abbaye Industrial Cheese Factory (20th century)^[13]
• Farmhouses (19th century)^[14]
• A Chateau at Mesnil-Aumont (18th century)^[15]
• A Manor/Chateau at Mesnil-Touffray (15th century)^[16]
• The Old Abbey Manor at Faverolles (12th century)^[17]

Religious heritage

The old Abbey

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:

• The old Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame of Barbery (12th century) founded by Robert Marmion in 1181.^[18]
• The Parish Church of Saint Peter (13th century).^[19] The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
  • Statues (16th-18th century)^[20]
  • A green Sofa, Armchair, and 2 Chairs (19th century)^[21]
  • A Stoup (16th century)^[22]
  • A Baptismal font (16th century)^[23]
  • An Altar and Tabernacle (18th century)^[24]
  • 4 Stained glass windows (1909/1932)^[25]
• A Presbytery (18th century)^[26]
• The Parish Church of Saint Martin at Mesnil-Touffray (13th century).^[27] The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
  • Statues (16th-20th century)^[28]
  • A Pulpit (18th century) (destroyed)^[29]
  • A Baptismal font (17th century)^[30]
  • An Altar, Tabernacle, and Retable (18th century)^[31]
  • Tombstones (17th-18th century)^[32]
  • A Monument to Charles de Lalongny (1640)^[33]

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department