Welcome to Cherveux
"between "Plain and Gâtine"
Isolated in the middle of a fertile plain on a verdant plateau rises the
village of Cherveux where the view embraces the most distant
horizon.
To
the south,
a vast plain undulates towards large horizons, extending to the Niortaise plain
which was
once part of the sea
(the soil
is chalky, permeable and excellent for growing grains). Stone
quarries are numerous in this region.The land is rich in fossils :
ammonites, "rostres of Bélemnites". Farther to the south about 20 kms,
one discovers the " Poitevin
marsh
".
To the north, one sees the gâtine, with more accentuated undulations and natural prairies surrounded by thick hedges. Here, the argilo-sandy soil is more compact and more impervious. It is favorable for cattle breeding
Origins
of Cherveux
Prehistoric
period :
Flint
tools (bifaces-knife-scraper-ax-tips of arrows) buried in the plain testify that
the place was inhabited during prehistoric times.
Roman period :
Some vestiges attest that the Romans occupied some places
The name of Cherveux : is of Celtic origin, what would indicate that the area originated at a very ancient date. This village was first known under the name of Carvium in 1100, then, a century later as Cherveox and Cheveras until the fifteenth century. It then became Cherveaux, then, by 1603, Chevreoux and later, Cherveus. Then, it was called St Pierre of Cherveux into the Eighteenth century before being only simply Cherveux. Its name would come from hemp (in "local patois": chorbe or chorve). Since this plant was very abundant in this region, many people made their livings as weavers and manufacturer of rope).
Cherveux
probably owes its existence to
a monastery that was settled close to the " motte féodale "
that was later to become the powerful fortress of the Lusignans. Monks that
lived in it were driven
out during the wars that ravaged the Poitou.
The monastery has
been destroyed and on the site now stands a church that rises on the
remains of the ancient monastery, known as St-Pierre's de Poitiers cathedral. Stones that have
been found in the church graveyard are shaped like those of Civaux and Nanteuil.
In a stable of the castle farm, there is a window that leads to the ruins of the
ancient monestary.
Some
places around Cherveux called Maurie and the Raberie (spelled before Araberie)
remind us of the passage of the Maure and the Arabian.