Vendhuile

Vendhuile (French pronunciation: [vɑ̃dɥil]) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.^[3] It received the Croix de guerre for its suffering in World War I.

Vendhuile
Commune
Town hall
Location of Vendhuile
Vendhuile Show map of France Vendhuile Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°00′39″N 3°12′33″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Aisne
Arrondissement	Saint-Quentin
Canton	Bohain-en-Vermandois
Intercommunality	Pays du Vermandois
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Xavier Passet[1]
Area 1	10.96 km2 (4.23 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	563
• Density	51/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	02776 /02420
Elevation	83–143 m (272–469 ft) (avg. 86 m or 282 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Cassini map of this area (around 1750)

The hamlet of La Terrière, just under 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the northeast, which includes around forty houses and a church, is part of Vendhuile as to 1⁄4, and the rest is in the commune of Honnecourt-sur-Escaut in Nord.

Town planning

According to the terms of Insee and its zoning published in 2020, Vendhuile is a rural municipality, as it does not belong to any urban unit. The municipality is part of the functional area (aire d'attraction, commuting zone) of Saint-Quentin.^[3]

History

Toponymy

Soldile appears in 1148 under the name of Vendulia in a cartulary of the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Martin then Vendulium, Soldile, Soldille, Soldile-en-l'Empire, Vendhuille-Cambrésis, Vendhuille sur Cambrésis, Vendhuille on the Cassini map around 1750, and the current Vendhuile spelling at the end of the 18th century.^[4]

18th century map

The pre-Revolutionary Cassini map above shows that Vendhuile lying on the Scheldt (Escaut). A water mill symbolized by a toothed wheel was on the river.

To the north, La Terrière is a hamlet (subsidiary place without a church).

World War I

Due to the commune's involvement in the first world war the Commonwealth War Graves Commission set up Unicorn Cemetery in the commune where allied soldiers who fought in WW1 are buried, among them is Victoria Cross recipient Lawrence Weathers.^[5]

Politics and administration

The commune of Vendhuile is a member of the Intercommunalité of Pays du Vermandois, a Public Establishment for Inter-municipal Cooperation (EPCI) with its own tax system created on 31 December 1993 whose head office is at Bellicourt.^[6]

Administratively, it is in the arrondissement of Saint-Quentin, in the department of Aisne and the region of Hauts-de-France.^[3]

See also

• Communes of the Aisne department
• Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. Commune de Vendhuile (02776), INSEE
4. "Dictionary of topography of France. Topographical dictionary of the department of Aisne: including old and modern place names / ed. under the auspices of the Academic Society of Laon, by M. Auguste Matton; publ. by order of the Minister of Public Instruction; and under the dir. of the Historical Works Committee". Gallica. 1871. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
5. Wigmore & Harding 1986, p. 128.
6. "CC du Pays du Vermandois". BANATIC. Retrieved 14 October 2024.

Sources

• Wigmore, Lionel; Harding, Bruce A. (1986). Williams, Jeff; Staunton, Anthony (eds.). They Dared Mightily (2 ed.). Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Australian War Memorial. ISBN 978-0-642-99471-4.