Rochefort-of-Gard

Geography

History

SOURCES: Topography of the Department of Gard by Eugene Germinate-Durand, 1868

Rochefort of Gard , canton of Villeneuve-the-Avignon. - Name, date , ( sources.) - Roca-Fortis, 1169 ( cartulaire of Franquevaux ). - B., prior Rupis-Fortis, 1292 ( Ménard I, evidence page 117, column 1 ) - Castrum de Rupe-Forti, 1312 ( communal records of Valliguière ) - Terra and baronia Ruppis-Fortis, 1329 ( communal records of Valliguière .) - Locus de Ruppe-Forti, 1384 ( enumeration of the seneschalsy .) - Rochefort, 1551 ( departmental records of Gard C. 1331 ) - Priory of Roquefort, 1620 ( insinuations ecclesiastic of the diocese of Uzès ) - Community of Rochefort, 1633 ( departmental records of the gard C. 1296 ) - Community of Rochefort, 1736 ( departmental records of the gard. C. 1307 ) - Podium-Raynaudi; Pech-Reynaud; Our-Lady-of-grace; Notre-Dame of Castling-Vermilion ( Dom Chantelou, Historia monasterii Beatœ-Mariœ de Rupe Forti ) - On July 17th 1891 , the President of the Republic, Carnot will sign a decree, which declares that the commune of Rochefort (Canton of Villeneuve-the-Avignon) will in the future bear the name of Rochefort of Gard. Rochefort belonged to viguery of Roquemaure and the diocese of Uzès for the temporal one; but for the spiritual one it belonged to the diocese of Avignon. - The priory of Rochefort was plain with the abbey of Saint-Andrew of Villeneuve-the-Avignon; the pitancier of this monastery was prior.

- This place was composed, in 1384 , of 25 fires. - Rochefort was the seat of a baronnie which included/understood: Domazan, Estézargues, Fournès, Pujaut, Saint-Hilaire-in Ozilhan, Saze, Tavels and Valliguière. - The vault of Our-Lady-of-Grace is always the goal of a very attended pilgrimage. - The priory of Saint-Bertulphe (as a Languedocien, Saint-Bardoux), parish church of Rochefort, was plain in 1410 in Notre-Dame of Rochefort.

- In 1866 , Rochefort counted 1164 inhabitants, 626 women and 538 men, Rochefortais with the armies are not counted. Trades in Rochefort: 2 carpenters, 1 wet cooper, 1 manufacturing bricks or tiles and its 5 workmen, 9 masons, 1 cabinetmaker, 1 tailor, 2 dressmakers, 2 modistes, 6 shoe-makers, 3 hairdressers, 4 bakers, 2 butchers, 5 landlords, 4 café owners, 6 marshal-shoeing, 3 roadmenders, 4 grocers, 1 merchant of cattle, 1 portefaix, 1 tobacconist, 1 grave-digger, 1 usher, 1 doctor, 1 midwife, 1 teacher, 1 rural policeman, 4 monks, 2 nuns, 1 priest. -- Existing animals in the commune: 49 horses, 111 mules, 37 asses, 1 cow, 2394 sheep, 95 pigs, 47 goats, 143 hives. (*)

- In 1908 Rochefort counted 837 inhabitants. distribution by districts: Agglomeration, 618 H - Notre Dame district, 53 H - district of Bégude 55 H - district of the pond, 10:00 - district of Fayssette, 9:00 - district of Rouvière, 9:00 - district of Bel Air, 5:00 - district of Montibuis, 2:00 - district of Belly, 8:00 - district of Panissière, 2:00 - district of the Lime kiln, 6:00 Since the preceding census in 1901, the village lost 5 inhabitants. - Existing Animals in the commune in 1906: 121 horses, 92 mules and mules, 11 asses, 4 cows, 1765 sheep, ewe or lambs, 70 pigs and 30 goats. (*)

- the armorial bearings of Rochefort are: of azure, with a losangée band of gold and mouths .

(*) http://www.roca-fortis.com sources

Administration

|- | align=right| March 2001 |||| Jean-Marie Pascal ||align=" center" | PRG ||

Demography

Places and monuments

Castelas . The old parish church with the shape of a Latin cross; it belongs to the feudal enclosure and dominates all constructions of Rochefort. Architecture in is poor and coarse; the apse, single remains saved by the wars of XVIe century, presents only a certain elegance and offers the characters whose the first monuments of Christianity are impressed. It was dedicated to Bertulphe saint (in patois, Bardoux), abbot of the monastery of Bobbio, in Italy. As we already said in our last note on Tavel, Rostaing, bishop of Avignon, gave St-Bertulphe to St Andre of Villeneuve, the year 1189. The vault which touches the sacristy was devoted to the worship of Alzias saint, and that of vis-a-vis the Virgin. Its cemetery occupied the eminence placed close to the source which provides water to the country; one still sees there in the middle of the vines, the mutilated remainders of a pilot oratory dumb, but however eloquent, great vicissitudes of the region. The year 1602, on June 4th, the consuls protested against the pitancier of the abbey of the monastery St Andre, what it did not make them rebuild their church, and suffered that the divine service took place in the storeroom of the claustral house. The business trailed in length until June 5th, 1634, time to which one dealt with work; the erection of the bell-tower was included/understood in repairs. In 1623, we find a series of ordinances of Richelieu which give the order to demolish the fortifications of the villages of the area; the ordinance of the demolition of the ramparts of Rochefort remains untraceable; after the wars of religion, the fortifications of Rochefort, in a state of ruins, were certainly not raised, the ordinance became useless, thereafter it is extremely probable that the major part of the ruins of the old rampart will finish in the bell-tower in 1650.

the vault St Joseph , 1734. ( the Town hall ) This vault transformed into 1825 in town hall, will be used of school and housing for the communal teacher until the beginning of the third republic. Its construction dates that year 1734, time to which Pierre Palejay, middle-class man of the country, made it build, to replace the day before church (Castelas) become decayed and can convenient of access. One will use stones of the old castle to build it. The medium of the vault of the room of the deliberations carries a stone which notes its foundation. It represents a small escutcheon having two PP letters placed in saltire on a small cross, and around the four figures forming 1734, with the top the old main door of the vault, one notices both PP letter on the wrought iron grid

the current church , 1849. This elegant building, inaugurated on April 11th, 1849, belongs to the Gothic architecture; acute of form, bold of attitude, it shows with pride its shredded gate all of sculptures. The large central rosette is of a charming tenuity. The door, with its collars of arabesques which crown a gracious rafter surrounded by flames, is flanked of two windows and two niches cut in the angles of the frontage. This part has, moreover, two slightly projecting turrets; they are composed of a stylobate of approximately four meters height, surmounted of two hexagonal stages, bored of window on each face, with through which one discovers the sinuous edge of a spiral staircase. The interior is not less remarkable; it contains three naves. The vault of principal, decorated interlacing rhombuses, is pressed on twelve posts, finished by the pendentive ones finely engraved. Ten windows occupy enters them columns. Ten gantries, high on twelve columns, communicate to the sides, suitably enlightened by windows with rosettes. Three other gantries, placed close to the entry, support an hemmed platform of a capricious edge. The sides of the sanctuary have two parallel niches with which the framings are full with elegance and lightness. Three marble furnace bridges decorate the bottom with the naves. Among paintings, we will quote the twelve stations of painful Passion; lines of the characters in. are severe and the strongly felt colors. The woodwork of the pulpit also draws an special attention, it is a true artistic masterpiece. (this pulpit will be removed in 1988) We are been willing to regard this church as one of most complete and of most harmonious of all those who exist in the department. In this work, Mr. Bourdon was proof of the taste which characterized it. The church will be entirely carried out with stones extracted from careers of the area, not of local recovery. In 1931 the church crack, the walls deviate under the pressure from the roof, of large modifications are considered, the mason Vidal de Beaucaire places ties on the side walls and raises those, (outside, one can notice this recovery, of the old postcards represent it under its old aspect), that makes it possible to pose the roof on beams, and thus to remove the lateral thrust. The ground paved out of stone will be remade in tilings, at that time, the Hébrard abbot officiated then the parish, it will make bury under the pulpit, a bucket of mason full with parts of a penny, they were démonétisées. The dates of construction as those of the various restorations are engraved on the first pillar of left. (1849 - 1931 - 1988) In 1954 a new bell will be installed in the bell-tower right-sided. She will be blessed the same day as that of Castelas. the aqueduct of Signargues In 1867, after eight years of administrative formalities the project of boring of the aqueduct of Signargues is in good voice. A precise description of work informs us on the way in which the latter were carried out. From Vaujus, 700 meters are bored in tunnel, the last 200 meters are carried out with open sky. Three wells, dug with interval, will make it possible to evacuate the embankments. The latter will be wide on the communal grounds and a way, marked by the letters has and B on the plan. This plan is published with the numbers of the pieces and the names of the owners. Mr. Bègue, architect of the project, envisages six months for his realization, actually it took 6 years, in this history most inefficient is not that which one believes. It is easier to rather carry out a work with a feather than with a pickaxe!!! In 1869, work of boring of the underground of Signargues marks time. The inhabitants of the village do not want to spend a new summer without water, on February 3rd, 1869, the public director of work makes a pitiless report. Extracted from its declaration, he denounces the mason of Rochefort which took the adjudication of work: “By its lack of precaution and its incapacity several misfortunes had arrived in the gallery, initially him Marquis buried himself in a crumbling, and another workman had the same fate and finally a third workman committed suicide. It was then towards the end of August, nobody did not want to work more in this gallery, considering the little of precaution that Marquis took his clotheshangers and of his stayings, so much so that it reduced its building site to four workmen and of most unable, than it maintained there, so that one cannot say that it had completely left the building site, finally Mr. Marquis was completely discouraged…” The few initiates who visited the tunnel ask well why it curves, it was only one imagination, result of the incompetence of the first mason. Our dear director of work, Mr. Bègue then leaves us a new contractor his hat, named Denoos, all the problems were to be regulated by his only competence. But the problems will still accumulate and water will not be there this summer and it will be necessary to pass 6 from them to have satisfaction to see running the fountain abundantly. The completion date given in the specifications was 6 months, work will last 6 years, cheer with the architect Mr. Bègue of Uzès, for unknown reasons to date, this last does not have followed work until the end, it was replaced by another architect originating in Orange. It is the latter which will make modifications in 1874 to the principal fountain, initially badly calculated, uneven insufficient did not make it possible to correctly feed all the districts of the village

Fountain vis-a-vis the common house In 1821 it is the end great work of water conveyance. A drain of the sources of Vaujus in the middle of the village is finally operational. The single fountain was then in front of the common house. (A pediment rebuilds in 1834 is still there to mark of it the site, a modern fountain will be added by the Savonne municipality.) At the time of the visit of reception by the engineer, an interesting description of the network gives us a new lighting on the utility of the underground of Benevolent, this last was used as passage with control quite simply.

Sources: http://www.roca-fortis.com

Personalities related to the commune

Photographs related to the commune

See too

Common of Gard

External bonds

Rochefort-of-Gard on the site of the national geographical Institute
Rochefort-of-Gard on the site of INSEE
Rochefort-of-Gard on the site of Quid
Localization of Rochefort-of-Gard on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Rochefort-of-Gard on Mapquest
roca-fortis.com - Site of history of Rochefort of Gard

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