Beaumont-de-Lomagne
Encyclopedia
Beaumont-de-Lomagne is a commune
in the Tarn-et-Garonne
department in the Midi-Pyrénées
region
in southern France.
- the King was represented by his seneschal
for Toulouse, Eustace de Beaumarchais. In 1278 the town was granted a very liberal charter of laws, by the standards of the period, defining the rights and duties of its inhabitants.
In 1280, work commenced on a large church; its flat apse
shows the influence of Cîteaux. The bell-tower, was made in the fifteenth century and resembles that of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. Construction finished around 1430 and the bishop of Montauban, driven out of his city by the English, made it his church until 1432.
The market
hall, in the center of the town square, was designed for the markets that took place every Saturday.
The fourteenth century marked the beginning of the Hundred years war. Taken by the English in 1345, Beaumont was recaptured in 1350 but continued to be plundered by "Great Companies" and experienced civil war due to the opposition of two military chiefs: Count of Foix
and Jean I,Comte d'Armagnac. The century ended with an epidemic
of the plague which killed 500 inhabitants.
By the sixteenth century, Beaumont, a catholic
town, was surrounded by three protestant towns: Montauban
, Mas-Grenier
and Mauvezin
. In 1577, Henri III
sold Beaumont to Henri III of Navarre (future Henri IV
), leader of the Protestants and whose troops came to massacre a hundred Beaumontois.
In December 1580, 600 mercenaries of Montauban demobilized and took Beaumont. They remained for two months, and caused much damage to the town. When peace returned, many Beaumontois adopted the policy of religious tolerance as advocated by Henri IV.
In the seventeenth century, Louis XIII besieged several cities in the south-west including Beaumont; the "Chateau de Roi" was destroyed by royal decree
. In 1639 Louis sold Beaumont to the Prince of Condé. Under Louis XIV, Beaumont was still under the jurisdiction of viscount
Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti
, one of the nobility involved in the Fronde
, Beaumont was therefore part of the rebellion and this caused considerable losses to the town. There was an occupation in 1651 by Conti troops, rebelling against the king. The incident ended without conflict, but Beaumont, ruined, had to pay a large fine; another plague epidemic also occurred during this event.
In 1702, the town had only 2,400 inhabitants but during this period of peace, it undertook various works and became prosperous again.
In 1777, the ramparts were destroyed.
After sending a delegate to the States General
, Beaumont created a revolutionary club but from 1790, the town became part of the Haute-Garonne
department and became isolated, to the advantage of Grenade
, its neighbour and rival. Grenade became the chief town of district. In 1808, new department divisions were brought in by Napoleon and Beaumont found itself in the Tarn-et-Garonne
region, which it still is today.
Though the importance of large fairs has decreased, Beaumont remains an important agricultural market due to the cultivation of garlic
. It retains much of its history through its old buildings: the church, its fortress - whose imposing mass dominates the town - the large market with its distinctive roof as well as approximately fifteen private mansions, the majority of which date from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Tarn-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne is a French department in the southwest of France. It is traversed by the Rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name.-History:...
department in the Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in southern France.
History
Beaumont-de-Lomagne, bastide, was founded in 1276 following the act of coregency between the abbey of Grandselve and King Philip III of FrancePhilip III of France
Philip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:...
- the King was represented by his seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
for Toulouse, Eustace de Beaumarchais. In 1278 the town was granted a very liberal charter of laws, by the standards of the period, defining the rights and duties of its inhabitants.
In 1280, work commenced on a large church; its flat apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
shows the influence of Cîteaux. The bell-tower, was made in the fifteenth century and resembles that of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. Construction finished around 1430 and the bishop of Montauban, driven out of his city by the English, made it his church until 1432.
The market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
hall, in the center of the town square, was designed for the markets that took place every Saturday.
The fourteenth century marked the beginning of the Hundred years war. Taken by the English in 1345, Beaumont was recaptured in 1350 but continued to be plundered by "Great Companies" and experienced civil war due to the opposition of two military chiefs: Count of Foix
Counts of Foix
The counts of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now southern France, during the Middle Ages. Later they extended their power to almost the entire Pyrenees mountain range, moving their court to Pau, in Béarn, until eventually the last count of Foix acceded to the French throne as...
and Jean I,Comte d'Armagnac. The century ended with an epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
of the plague which killed 500 inhabitants.
By the sixteenth century, Beaumont, a catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
town, was surrounded by three protestant towns: Montauban
Montauban
Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....
, Mas-Grenier
Mas-Grenier
Mas-Grenier is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.-References:*...
and Mauvezin
Mauvezin
Mauvezin is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Mauvezin, in the Haute-Garonne département* Mauvezin, in the Gers département* Mauvezin, in the Hautes-Pyrénées département...
. In 1577, Henri III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
sold Beaumont to Henri III of Navarre (future Henri IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
), leader of the Protestants and whose troops came to massacre a hundred Beaumontois.
In December 1580, 600 mercenaries of Montauban demobilized and took Beaumont. They remained for two months, and caused much damage to the town. When peace returned, many Beaumontois adopted the policy of religious tolerance as advocated by Henri IV.
In the seventeenth century, Louis XIII besieged several cities in the south-west including Beaumont; the "Chateau de Roi" was destroyed by royal decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
. In 1639 Louis sold Beaumont to the Prince of Condé. Under Louis XIV, Beaumont was still under the jurisdiction of viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti
Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti
Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti was a French nobleman, the second son of Henry II, Prince of Condé and brother of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and Anne Genevieve, Duchess of Longueville. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince du Sang.The title of Prince de Conti...
, one of the nobility involved in the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
, Beaumont was therefore part of the rebellion and this caused considerable losses to the town. There was an occupation in 1651 by Conti troops, rebelling against the king. The incident ended without conflict, but Beaumont, ruined, had to pay a large fine; another plague epidemic also occurred during this event.
In 1702, the town had only 2,400 inhabitants but during this period of peace, it undertook various works and became prosperous again.
In 1777, the ramparts were destroyed.
After sending a delegate to the States General
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
, Beaumont created a revolutionary club but from 1790, the town became part of the Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
department and became isolated, to the advantage of Grenade
Grenade, Haute-Garonne
Grenade, also referred to as Grenade-sur-Garonne, is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, its neighbour and rival. Grenade became the chief town of district. In 1808, new department divisions were brought in by Napoleon and Beaumont found itself in the Tarn-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne is a French department in the southwest of France. It is traversed by the Rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name.-History:...
region, which it still is today.
Though the importance of large fairs has decreased, Beaumont remains an important agricultural market due to the cultivation of garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
. It retains much of its history through its old buildings: the church, its fortress - whose imposing mass dominates the town - the large market with its distinctive roof as well as approximately fifteen private mansions, the majority of which date from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.
Town government
List of mayors:- March 2001–present: Faustin Llido, UMPUnion for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
party
Population
- 1962–3486
- 1968–3629
- 1975–3625
- 1982–3579
- 1990–3488
- 1999–3690
- 2006 = 3894
Places and monuments
- Hotel Toureilh (eighteenth century), now the Town Hall
- Fifteenth century covered market
- Statue of the mathematician Pierre Fermat
- Hotel Fermat 1500/1800 - Rue Fermat
- House of the two crosses (sixteenth century) - Rue de l'église
- Gothic church and Toulouse-style octagonal bell-tower; construction began around 1280
- PresbyteryPresbytery (architecture)The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
(around fifteenth century) - Rue de Presbytere - House of Seigneur d'Argombat (sixteenth century) - Rue de l'église
- Hôtel Saline puis du Rouble - Rue Fermat
- House of Jean d'Armagnac, (fifteenth century) - rue de la République
- Hotel Noble (eighteenth century) - rue de la République
- Hotel Vergnes (sixteenth and eighteenth century) - rue Lomagne
- Les Cordeliers, Hôpital St Jacques (thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, convent from seventeenth century) - rue Despeyrous
- Convent of Clarisses (seventeenth century) - rue Toureilh
- Hotel Long, late (eighteenth century) - rue Nationale
- Hotel François Bordes - street Nationale
- House of François Darquier - rue Darquier
- First houses of Beaumont - rue Launac and rue Toureilh
Personalities
- The mathematician Pierre de FermatPierre de FermatPierre de Fermat was a French lawyer at the Parlement of Toulouse, France, and an amateur mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his adequality...
was born in the town on 17 August 1601/1607/1608 (the exact year is unknown).