Aubencheul-aux-Bois


Aubencheul-aux-Bois is a commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aubencheulois or Aubencheuloises

Geography

Aubencheul-aux-Bois is located some 20 km south of Cambrai and 30 km east of Combles. The north-west border of the commune is the border between Aisne and Nord departments. The D644 road from La Gaite in the north runs south along the western border of the commune changing to D1044 in the commune and continuing south to Le Catelet. The D16 road runs east from the D644 to the village changing to D281 within the commune then continuing east as the D16 to Villers-Outreaux. The commune is composed entirely of farmland.
Two streams rise in the commune - one flowing south-west and the other flowing east.

Neighbouring communes and villages

History

Aubencheul-aux-Bois was the seat of a small abbey founded in the 11th century in the middle of the forest of Arrouaise. It was part of the province of Cambrésis. The village was ravaged in 1584 by the Duke of Parma and in 1636 by the Spaniards. The first inhabitants back to 1663 were the families of Loubry, Lévêque, Grau, Deboucq, Dessains, Dessenne, Guéguin, Carpentier, Milhem, Ferlier, Fichaux, Bernerd, Biar, Simon, Val, Bancourt, Noblécourt, Dubois, Caré, Faucon, Dazin, Savary, Malézieux, Lanthoine, Coupé, Pattée, Dambraine, Gressier, Thibaut, Billon, Domont, and Bantigny. On 16 July 1735, after five days of strong winds, a swarm of grasshoppers destroyed the stocks of straw and hay. There was a shortage in 1709 due to the freezing conditions from January to March with most fruit trees and corn crop being destroyed. This happened again in 1740 when poverty was extreme until the end of harvest in 1741 - during the famine the population lost about a quarter of its population. On 15 June 1839 a tornado a mile wide with hail as large as chicken eggs arrived and everything was destroyed. A fire destroyed 63 houses on 17 June 1827. In 1848 there was famine, in 1849 Cholera. The village was almost completely destroyed during the First World War.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Aubencheul-aux-Bois
FromToNamePartyPosition
1708Louys CaronMayor
17401742Henri CaronMayor
17511755Paul PasséMayor
17581765Alexandre Dominique PassetMayor
1773Michel CarronMayor
1776Philippe Joseph CaronMayor
17861788Charles Joseph Passet
1792Antoine Joseph Millot
1792Maximilien CaréMayor
18001816Hyacinthe Passet
18161831Augustin Passet
18321836Noël Milhem
18361847Ildefonce Désiré Passet
18481861Charles Clavier
18611871Benoît Hyacinthe Passet
18711871Louis Lévêque
18711875Eugéne Loubry
18751878Simon Philemont
18781892Eugéne Loubry
18921896Ernest Fontaine
18961904Charles Passet
1904Ernest Passet
1954Lucien Passet
1977PresentFrancis PassetDVD

Population

Sites and Monuments