Ballay

Ballay (French pronunciation: [balɛ]) is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France.

Ballay
Commune
Entrance to Ballay
Location of Ballay
Ballay Ballay
Coordinates: 49°25′51″N 4°45′00″E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Ardennes
Arrondissement	Vouziers
Canton	Vouziers
Intercommunality	Argonne Ardennaise
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Philippe Thirriard
Area 1	10.46 km2 (4.04 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	250
• Density	24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	08045 /08400
Elevation	91–221 m (299–725 ft) (avg. 100 m or 330 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Ballay is located some 35 km east by south-east of Rethel and 3 km north of Vouziers. Access to the commune is by the D977 road from Vouziers which passes through the centre of the commune and the village and continues north to Quatre-Champs. The D19 road from Quatre-Champs to Vandy forms part of the northern border of the commune. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Claire-Fontaine, Landèves, and La Noue Adam. The commune is mostly forested in the east and west with farmland down the centre.

The Aisne river forms the south-western border of the commune as it flows north to eventually join the Oise at Clairoix. The Fournelles flows through the centre of the commune from the north and joins the Aisne on the south-western border. Several tributaries rise in the commune and feed the Fournelles including the Martignère, the Ruisseau du Moulin des Bois, and the Chalan which forms part of the southern border of the commune.

Clairefontaine and Landèves were municipalities in 1790 and merged into Ballay at the end of 1790.

History

In the 12th century Ballay was a lordship with a castle and a parish with a church dedicated to Notre-Dame which was an annex to Vandy. An Augustinian Priory, Notre-Dame of Landèves, was founded at Landèves in 1219 by two brother lords of Bally who made it religious. Since its foundation the priory served the parish of Ballay. The priory became an abbey in 1623. The abbey and church were destroyed during the French Revolution.

Administration

The Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name
1995	2008	Jean-Luc Payer
2008	2020	Christian Mielcarek
2020	2026	Philippe Thirriard

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ballayriots or Ballayriottes in French.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 434 —     1800 502 +2.10% 1806 490 −0.40% 1821 447 −0.61% 1831 461 +0.31% 1836 473 +0.52% 1841 475 +0.08% 1846 473 −0.08% 1851 471 −0.08% 1866 417 −0.81% 1872 390 −1.11% 1876 375 −0.98% 1881 350 −1.37% 1886 382 +1.77% 1891 374 −0.42% 1896 373 −0.05% 1901 336 −2.07%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1906 332 −0.24% 1911 346 +0.83% 1921 331 −0.44% 1926 303 −1.75% 1931 283 −1.36% 1936 300 +1.17% 1946 307 +0.23% 1954 290 −0.71% 1962 315 +1.04% 1968 267 −2.72% 1975 265 −0.11% 1982 230 −2.00% 1990 254 +1.25% 1999 245 −0.40% 2007 242 −0.15% 2012 247 +0.41% 2017 289 +3.19%
Source: EHESS and INSEE

The War Memorial

Sites and monuments

The Church of Notre-Dame

• The Town Hall/School at Rue Notre-Dame (1925)
• The Church of Notre-Dame at Rue Notre-Dame (1925)
• A Flour Mill at Landèves (1921) The Flour Mill contains several items that are registered as historical objects:
  • A Separator Machine (20th century)
  • A Grinding Machine (20th century)
  • A Cleaning Machine (20th century)
  • An Ossberger Hydraulic Turbine (1922)

See also

• Communes of the Ardennes department

External links

• Ballay on the old National Geographic Institute website (in French)
• Ballay on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Balay on the 1750 Cassini Map