Balleroy () is a former commune in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

department in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of north-western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of

Balleroy-sur-Drôme Balleroy-sur-Drôme (, literally ''Balleroy on Drôme'') is a commune in the department of Calvados, northwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Balleroy and Vaubadon.

Geography

Balleroy is located some 16 km south-west of

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

and 21 km north-east of

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Cerisy-la-Forêt Cerisy-la-Forêt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. It had a population of 1,036 inhabitants in 2019 and possesses an importan ...

in the west which passes through the village and continues east to Lingèvres. The D28 road goes south from the village to

Planquery Planquery () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 526 Communes of France, communes of the Calvado ...

. The commune is mainly farmland with the

Château de Balleroy A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

grounds just west of the village occupying a substantial land area.Google Maps
/ref> The river

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

forms the western and north-western borders of the commune as it flows north-east to eventually join the ocean at

Port-en-Bessin-Huppain Port-en-Bessin-Huppain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The commune contains the two towns of Port-en-Bessin and Huppain. Population History The name ''Huppain'' stems from Norse/ ...

. The ''Ruisseau de la Commune'' flows from the west to join the Drome in the commune. The ''Vesbire'' forms the south-eastern border of the commune as it flows south-west to join the Drôme.

History

Until 1521 the commune was the property of the lord of Aunay. The lordship of Balleroy was purchased by the Trextot family. Jean de Choisy, counselor, notary and secretary of the king, in turn bought the lordship of Balleroy as well as the lands of

Cormolain Cormolain () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Edward III camped with his army in Cormolain overnight on 23 July 1346 on the way to the battle of Crécy. Population See also *Communes o ...

Montfiquet Montfiquet () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 526 Communes of France, communes of the Calva ...

, and

Vaubadon Vaubadon () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Balleroy-sur-Drôme.Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, knight, advisor to the king and the

Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans () was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King Philip VI for his yo ...

, Lord of Balleroy, Beaumont, Grandcamp, Léthanville, and Saint-Pierre and he founded the present chateau. He made the inhabitants near the chateau into vassals, forcing them to build their homes there. In 1634 the Lord of Balleroy obtained the establishment of a weekly market (on Tuesday) and two fairs a year. During the French revolutionary period of the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

(1792-1795), the commune was called ''Bal-sur-Drôme''.

Heraldry

Administration

Balleroy was part of the Community of communes Intercom Balleroy Le Molay-Littry which included 22 communes and had its seat in

Le Molay-Littry Le Molay-Littry () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. History On 23 January 1969 Le Molay merged with the old commune of Littry to form ''Le Molay-Littry''. Le Molay-Littry has good trav ...

. Balleroy was the seat of the former Canton of Balleroy. Since the 2015 French cantons reform, it is part of the

canton of Trévières The canton of Trévières is an administrative division of the Calvados ''département'', in northwestern France. Its chief town is Trévières. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015 C ...

. List of Successive

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Twinning

Balleroy has twinning associations with: *

Shebbear Shebbear (; ) is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district in Devon, England. History Shebbear was the third-largest settlement recorded in North Devon in the Domesday Book, having 76 households, 20 of which were slaves. It was unusu ...

(

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) since 1979. *

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It is now part of the enlarged E ...

(

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

) since 1986. * Fo (

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

) since 1989.

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Biardais'' or ''Biardaises'' and ''Billards'' or ''Billardes'' in French. Balleroy 04

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments: *The

(1626) was built by the architect

François Mansart François Mansart (; 23 January 1598 – 23 September 1666) was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into the Baroque architecture of France. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' identifies him as the most accomplished of 17th-c ...

for Jean de Choisy, advisor to

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

. Its

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...

are by Henri Duchêne according to plans by

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...

. It remained in the Balleroy family until 1970. The village was built around the castle. *The Château de Balleroy Park (1626) ;Chateau of Balleroy Picture Gallery File:Château de Balleroy 2008 PD 02.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 38.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 11.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 04.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 10.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 32.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 24.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 31.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 05.JPG File:Château de Balleroy 09.JPG File:GrundrissSchlossBalleroy.png

Religious heritage

*The Parish Church of Saint-Martin Grounds (1650) are registered as an historical monument. The Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects: **A Framed Painting: The Alliance between Abimélek and Abraham (17th century) **A Framed Painting: The descendant of Abraham (17th century) **A

Chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

with

Paten A paten or diskos is a small plate used for the celebration of the Eucharist (as in a mass). It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Wes ...

(17th century) **A Statue: Virgin and child (17th century) **A Painting: The Annunciation (18th century) **An Episcopal Cross (18th century) **A Statue: Saint Martin (17th century) ;Church of Saint Martin Picture Gallery File:Église Saint-Martin de Balleroy 11.JPG, The Nave File:Église Saint-Martin de Balleroy 17.JPG, Painting: The Descendant of Abraham File:Église Saint-Martin de Balleroy 09.JPG, The Confessional

Activities and events

Each year a gathering of

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

s took place at the

. This gathering took place for the last time in 1999 when

Malcolm Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (August 19, 1919 – February 24, 1990) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician most prominently known as the publisher of ''Forbes'' magazine, which was founded by his father B. C. Forbes. He repres ...

, the chateau's owner, would have celebrated his 80th birthday. Since 2007 in the face of demand from the public, the festival was again held at the end of June but this no longer happens in the castle. This was held by the village festival committee who organized a small gathering. The festivities are now held above the village at the stadium.

Notable people linked to the commune

Louis Charles d'Hervilly Louis Charles Le Cat, comte d'Hervilly (; 26 February 1756 – 14 November 1795) was a French nobleman, military officer and counter-revolutionary. He was one of the leaders of the abortive landing at Quiberon. His daughter married the gener ...

(1756-1795), Count of Hervilly, knight, Marquis of Leschelles, married Marie Louise Augustine La Cour de Balleroy (1758-1830) on 7 October 1778 at the Château de Balleroy which was the Château for his wife's family. *Louis James, from an old Balleroy family (James from Lalande). He left to live in Auxerre (Yonne) where he founded the first modern department store in association with the local merchant Lesseré. As he was unmarried, he brought in a nephew (Achille) and niece (Hortense) to share in the very successful business: it was the time of "Bonheur des Dames" (Happiness of Women). The stores ''Soisson & James'' were transferred to Eurodif in 1970. *Count Albert de Balleroy (1828-1872), MP for Calvados, painter specialising in hunting scenes, shared a studio on Rue Lavoisier in Paris with

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

Albert de Balleroy Archive website
/ref> *

(1919-1990), American press billionaire, owner of the Chateau from 1970.

References

External links

Balleroy official blog

{{authority control Former communes of Calvados (department) Populated places disestablished in 2016