The commune is located 10 km south of
Cognac, 6 km west of
Segonzac, and 3 km east of
Salles-d'Angles.
Angoulême, the prefecture of Charente, is 35 km to the east. Angeac is also 9 km north of
Archiac, 12 km south-west of
Jarnac, and 19 km north-west of
Saint-Hilaire.[3]
The commune does not lie on any main roads. The D731 road from
Barbezieux to Cognac via Archiac, passes through the west of the commune. The village is served by the D150 from
Germignac in the south-east and passes through the village before continuing north-east to join the D44 from
Juillac-le-Coq to Roissac towards Cognac and
Gensac-la-Pallue. A country road leads to the village of
Salles-d'Angles and another to
Genté in the north-west.[4]
The nearest train station is at Cognac which is served by the
TER between
Angoulême,
Saintes, and
Royan.
Hamlets and localities
There are many hamlets dotting the commune. In particular Roissac, located northeast of Angeac village, was an ancient parish, and the village is as important as Angeac.
The small village of Le Bois d'Angeac together with a small forest is located 1 km north-west of the village.[5]
Apart from a few small patches of forest the commune is entirely farmland[5]
As with the whole left bank of the
Charente between Angoulême and Cognac, this area is
limestone dating from the
Cretaceous period with
Cuestas.
The commune is part of the
Campanian (
Late Cretaceous)
chalkylimestone area which occupies a large part of South Charente. There is also some
Santonian rock on a small part of the northern border at Longées.
The Campanian cuesta passes through the commune. This escarpment starts in the west at
Salles-d'Angles, passes the foot of the town of
Genté, then runs through the whole department going east towards
Bouteville,
Jurignac, and
Plassac-Rouffiac. In the commune the escarpment passes through the east as an
inlier northeast of Roissac. It separates the north of the plain of
Châteaubernard from Champagne to the south.[6][7][8]
The highest point in the commune is at an altitude of 84 m located north-west of Roissac. Another high point of 83 m faces it to the east (topped by an IGN
Survey marker). The lowest point is 17 m located in Pas de la Tombe on the south-west edge of the commune near
Salles d'Angles. The commune mostly varies in height between 40 and 70 m above sea level.[4]
Hydrography
The ford at the Spring of the Three Stones
The Ruisseau de la Motte, a small tributary of the river
Né and thus a sub-tributary of the
Charente, forms the commune boundary to the south. No other rivers pass through the commune but there are many pools in a valley west of the village and towards Roissac[4] and some springs including the Three Stones east of Bois d'Angeac.
The word Angeac is derived from the Latin Andiacum or villa Andii meaning that the village was built around the property of a rich
Gallo-Roman named Andius. The term Champagne was added to the name of the town in 1801 to distinguish it from its namesake
Angeac-Charente. In
Saintonge the term
Champagne refers to a fertile plain of limestone. It is derived from the Latin campus meaning "field" or "plain".
The word Roissac is derived from the Latin Riatacum or villa Riatii meaning that the village was built around the property of a rich Gallo-Roman named Riatus.[9]
History
Proto-historic circular
Ditches exist in the areas of Penchant de Lorimont and Houme, with square and circular ones at a place called Les Chirons. Roman villas are said to be at Puits d'Angeac at Chabanne and there are some medieval remains at Branges.[10]
The remains of a Gallo-Roman villa possibly dating to the first half of the 9th century were found in 1904. It was a residence of
Louis the Pious. These remains have disappeared.
Angeac was first a dependency of the
Templars then passed to the Marquisate of Archiac then often changed hands. In 1239 Roissac passed to the House of Angoulême then at Barbezieux. By marriage Roissac became allied with
Salles-d'Angles and
Genté. The rights to the marshes resulted in brawls and lawsuits with the Lordship of Gademoulin.
The commune of Angeac was created in 1793 when it belonged to the Canton of Salles in district of Cognac and the Charente department. In 1801 it took the name of Champagne and was attached to the Canton de Segonzac.
The Roissac railway station was served from 1910 to 1939 by the Chemins de fer économiques des Charentes (Cheap Trains of Charente) with a metre gauge line from Cognac to Barbezieux with 3 return trips a day at a speed of 20 km/h. This line also served stations at
Cognac,
Genté,
Segonzac,
Juillac-le-Coq,
Saint-Fort-sur-le-Né,
Archiac, and
Barbezieux.
The school is an educational inter-communal grouping between Angeac-Champagne and
Salles-d'Angles. Angeac-Champagne has a kindergarten and Salles-d'Angles an elementary school.[15]
Culture and heritage
The Chateau de RoissacFrançois I Spring at Roissac
The commune contains a very large number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments.[16] Some of the more interesting sites are described below.
Civil heritage
The Chateau de Roissac (18th century). The Chateau bears the date 1830 but it was a chateau built in the Middle Ages for the La Rochefoucauld family at the site of a Gallo-Roman villa. The present chateau was built for the Beauchamp family around 1770 and the date 1830 with the initials I.P. corresponds to the remains of the outbuildings. There are decorations and, especially in the living room, wood paneling adorned with paintings of birds, flowers, fruit, landscapes, a scene with a sower, Moses and the Tablets of the Law.[17][18]
The Fountain,
Lavoir (Public Laundry), and drinking trough at Roissac.[20] They are linked to
François I who would have visited the Chateau de Roissac for hunting.
A Manor at Lorimont (1831).[24] According to Martin Civat it already existed in the 16th century and was rebuilt in the 19th century. It bears the inscription "FAIT EN 1831 CHAILLOU PAUL" (Made in 1831 Chaillou Paul).
An Underground refuge (Antiquity).[25] A staircase to the refuge has been identified but its location remains unknown.
The Logis d'AngeacThe entrance to the Logis d'Angeac
The Logis d'Angeac Manor (1733).[27] This is a manor that dates in part to the 16th century. When René de la Tour bought it in 1657 the house was to the north. The outbuildings are dated 1733. Another house was built to the west and rebuilt in the 19th century with outbuildings to the south. The entrance gate bears the date 1882.
The Town Hall (1897). The town hall was built in 1897 and 1898 by Locussol, an entrepreneur from Cognac, from the plans of the architect Lucien Roy also from Cognac.[29]
The Parish Church of Saint-Vivien (11th century)[36] The church was built in the 11th century and partly rebuilt in 1534 then repaired at the expense of the priest, Jean Marcus, in 1748 then restored again in 1864. Finally it was vaulted in 1875. It is elongated like a ship and covered by a ribbed vault. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
^Jean-Marie Cassagne and Stéphane Seguin, Origins of the names of towns and villages of Charente, Jean-Michel Bordessoules, 1998, 311 pages, p. 14 and 229,
ISBN2-913471-06-4(in French)
^Christian Vernou, The Charente, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris, coll. "Archeological Map of Gaul", 1993, 253 p. (
ISBN2-87754-025-1), p. 200-201 (in French)