Lapeyrouse, a vast commune of 36km2
By far the largest commune of the canton with 3.614 hectares (the others being Saint-Eloy-Les-Mines 2,593 ha, Youx 1,869 ha, Virlet 1737 ha, Moureuille 1,630 ha, Durmignat 1,185 ha, Buxières-sous-Montaigut 1,088 ha, Montaigut-en-Combrailles 817 ha et Ars-les-Favets 1,345 ha) Lapeyrouse spreads out its green mantle under the sun. Scattered with numerous ponds, almost continually green, it presents itself as an oasis of greenery, free of pollution, a valuable quality. Naturally suited to agriculture (cultivation and cattle breeding), with a clay soil of ph 5.5, it is perfectly suited to all types of farming. Today's young people, mastering perfectly their profession find themselves confronted by economic difficulty and mechanisation which is killing employment.
Under Charlemagne 2 quintals were often sown for a harvest of 3. Today we get 60 quintals per hectare; from one bovine per hectare we succeed with several.
The region of the Combrailles deserves its name (from the gaulois comboro=confluence). It is situated on the west side of the Massif Central. The surface is divided, shaped into rounded hillocks, naturally low in fertility, but improved by fertiliser. The subsoil is crystalline, which explains the presence of numerous ponds. The carboniferous deposit which was formed along the length of the north-south fissure in times past has given us the mining basins of Commentry, St-Eloy, Le Puy-St-Gulmier and further afield Messeix. Near Echassières, at La Bosse, kaolin, tungsten and tin etc are extracted.
The name Combrailles is given to the ancient crystalline plateau crossed by the deep valley of the Sioule. Our investigations concentrate on a much smaller area, on the old province of La Combraille and, in particular, the part situated in the Auvergne. This small province has in fact been broken up and is now included in three départements: Allier, Creuse and Puy-De-Dome.
Our distant ancestors occupied more or less the whole area. In about 1865, a ploughman dug up, between Virlet and Pionsat, 28 gold coins bearing the effigy of Vercingetorix. Twenty of them are preserved at Le Musée de la Monnai under the name of "The Treasure of Pionsat". This busy region was to receive Christianity relatively early, but we know nothing of the first Christian communities.
By the 2nd century the defection of the nobles and the wearing down of the Gauls led to the Romans classing the Avermes among the twelve pacified peoples of Gaul. Towards the middle of the 4th century the Auvergne, in the centre of Gaul, fought often with the invading Barbarians. In turn, the Allains, the Vandals, the Suèves and the Huns ravaged the land and covered it in ruins.
In the 3rd century the prelates Strémonius, Nectorius and Sevenatus brought Christianity to the Auvergne. The Bishop of St-Alyre died in 385.
During
32 years (from 475 - 507) Avernie was part of the kingdom of Wisigoth,
after the defeat of Alaric at Vouillé.
Once Gaul was conquered, the Romans thoroughly occupied the region. The
best proof of this is the construction of the aqueduct, which, from the
woods of Le Quartier, took water to the thermal baths of Néris-Les-Bains.
The route of this aqueduct was retraced when, in 1935, excavations made
for the Montaigut water pipes uncovered the remains of the construction
in the areas of La Crouzille, Ars and beyond. On the map of Pentinger,
La Combraille is shown under the name of Cambovicenses, country of the
inhabitants of Chambon.
The history of the old Combraille and the High Middle Ages is little known. The Romans collapsed under the upsurge of the Burgondes, Suèves, Goths and Francs. In 418, the Roman Emperor Honorius allowed Wallis, chief of the Goths, to settle around Toulouse, then Aquitaine and finally at La Guyenne (Marcillat en Guyenne) in La marche. The primitive abbey of Menat was destroyed.
The fighting hardly decreased between the reigns of Clovis and Charlemagne. Two of Charlemagne's punitive raids had repercussions in La Combraille: the conquest of Aquitaine in 771 and the expedition to Spain, which finished at Roncevaux in 778. The Normans got as far as Menat. Then the Auvergne became part of Austrasie, of the Mérovingiens.
In the 8th century Duke Bohon is killed at the head of his loyal Avernes.
The predominance of Menat over our district is proved by its rights to name all the parish priests even those of Virlet.
When the judgement of 1136 was made, the old Combraille was amputated from the region of Montaigut in favour of that of the Bourbonnais. At this period Lapeyrouse came under Beauvoir and the Bourbons. The betrayal of Charles de Bourbon lost him Beauvoir and Lapeyrouse left the Bourbonnais.
Lapeyrouse,
despite its size, never had a fortress and was governed by the bourgeoisie.
It had only one road suitable for vehicles: La Porte de Montmarault at
Montaigut. Despite its importance it lacked a hospital (Nicolay 1569).
The hospital at Montaigut was rebuilt in 1756; Melle de Gouzolle was the
superior.