Argouges

Argouges
Part of Saint-James
The town hall
Location of Argouges
Argouges Argouges
Coordinates: 48°30′12″N 1°23′42″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Avranches
Canton	Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët
Commune	Saint-James
Area 1	16.41 km2 (6.34 sq mi)
Population  (2019)	502
• Density	31/km2 (79/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	50240
Elevation	25–133 m (82–436 ft) (avg. 38 m or 125 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Argouges (French pronunciation: [aʁɡuʒ]) is a former commune in the Manche department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the commune Saint-James.

For many centuries the Barons de Gratot (Argouges) resided at the Château de Gratot in Argouges. Similar to the Château de Gratot is the Château de Argouges in Vaux-sur-Aure, in the French department of Calvados, Normandy which had also been owned by the Barons de Gratot (Argouges). According to the French Wikipedia a legend is that a Lord of Argouges met a Fairy woman who agreed to be his wife provided he never spoke the word "Mort" [death] which was considered profane language; however he spoke it and the Fairy vanished; this legend is associated with both Château de Gratot and the Château de Argouges.

• 
  Coat of arms of the Barons de Gratot (Argouges)
• 
  François d'Argouges, [1622-1695] premier président Parlement de Bretange
• 
  Château de Argouges in Vaux-sur-Aure.
• 
  View of the ruins of the Château de Gratot at the left
• 
  A view of the Main entrance of the Château de Gratot
• 
  A rear view of the Main entrance of the Château de Gratot
• 
  An overview rear view of Main entrance of the Château de Gratot
• 
  A rear view of Tower XIII of the Château de Gratot
• 
  Tower XIII of the Château de Gratot
• 
  From left to right: The 18th Pavilion, the Round Tower, the Maison Seigneuriale, the Fairy Tower
• 
  Rear View of the North facade of the Château de Gratot [The 18th Pavilion at the right]
• 
  Rear View of the North facade of the Château de Gratot

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1793 1,329 —     1800 1,145 −13.8% 1806 1,272 +11.1% 1821 1,316 +3.5% 1831 1,542 +17.2% 1836 1,464 −5.1% 1841 1,576 +7.7% 1846 1,512 −4.1% 1851 1,450 −4.1% 1856 1,440 −0.7% 1861 1,390 −3.5% 1866 1,302 −6.3% 1872 1,294 −0.6% 1876 1,272 −1.7% 1881 1,179 −7.3% 1886 1,152 −2.3% 1891 1,212 +5.2%

Year Pop. ±% 1896 1,164 −4.0% 1901 1,107 −4.9% 1906 1,107 +0.0% 1911 1,058 −4.4% 1921 1,004 −5.1% 1926 991 −1.3% 1931 952 −3.9% 1936 925 −2.8% 1946 890 −3.8% 1954 842 −5.4% 1962 819 −2.7% 1968 787 −3.9% 1975 718 −8.8% 1982 621 −13.5% 1990 599 −3.5% 1999 540 −9.8% 2009 551 +2.0%

Notable people

• Marie-Louise Bouglé (1883-1936), feminist, librarian, and archivist

See also

• Communes of the Manche department