Villages in the wine growing plain

Saint-André-de-Sangonis is mentioned in the 10th century as a possession of the Abbey of Aniane but from 1031 onwards appears to have been placed under the authority of the monks of Gellone in Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert and had its own parish church before 1140. In the 13th century, the Bishop of Lodève became its new ruler and proceeded to build an Episcopal “castrum”, mentioned in 1270, enabling him to control access routes from Clermont l’Hérault to Montpeyroux and from Montpellier to Lodève.

Despite this glorious medieval past, which is one of the features of the village, the events of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries had a drastic effect on the former authority of the “castrum” as well as on its topography. In the late 18th century the imposing moats that had surrounded the fortified village were filled in throughout their length. The village’s outer districts developed rapidly and a square, adorned with a fountain formed a link between the original enclosure and the barry (the outer settlements). This process, in which building outside the walls took up a large proportion of the space depending on the location of new roads and the station, was extended throughout the 19th century. The Hôtel de Ville in Saint-André-de Sagonis is typical of the architecture of town halls in the area in the 19th century. It is a very fine building, dating from 1848, fashioned of limestone blocks.

Caractéristique de l’architecture des mairies du secteur au XIXe siècle, l’Hôtel de Ville de Saint-André-de-Sangonis est un très bel édifice de 1848 façonné en pierre de taille calcaire. A l’instar des monuments que l’on rencontre à Saint-Pargoire, ou selon le modèle piscénois, ces lieux ont plusieurs fonctions : mairie, halle commerçante et école. Réunissant les fonctions publiques, économiques et éducatives, elles sont un symbole du nouveau centre urbain.

As in the case of the monuments found in Saint-Pargoire, or like the example in Pézenas, these places have several purposes: they function as council offices, market-halls and schools. In the sense that they bring together its administrative, commercial and educational roles, they are a symbol of the new kind of town centre.

The large number of outside settlements within the commune of Saint-André-de-Sangonis bears witness to the density of its occupation in medieval times. This was a period that was important for cultivation of areas that had hitherto been wasteland. The estate of Cambous (Cambonis: fertile field) is obvious proof of this. It is a site that was occupied from very ancient times and one that was inhabited throughout the middle ages, continuing to be so in the 19th century. These hamlets, practically all of which are disused today, are evidence of the agricultural energies of the Hérault Valley in those ancient times.


Previous page