Ervillers

Ervillers
Coat of arms
Ervillers
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region  Ervillers
Coordinates: 50°09′42″N 2°49′28″E / 50.1617°N 2.8244°ECoordinates: 50°09′42″N 2°49′28″E / 50.1617°N 2.8244°E
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Arras
Canton	Croisilles
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Sud Arrageois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Louis Lebrun
Area^1	7.13 km^2 (2.75 sq mi)
Population (1999)^2	449
• Density	63/km^2 (160/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	62306 / 62121
Elevation	77–115 m (253–377 ft) (avg. 98 m or 322 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Ervillers is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.

Geography

A farming village situated 11 miles (17.7 km) south of Arras at the junction of the N17, D36 and D9 roads.

History

Prehistoric fossils have been found here, including elephant teeth. Roman objects such as coins, vases, skeletons and evidence of buildings have also been unearthed. This demonstrates that Ervillers was inhabited in Roman times, especially at the place called "Capieau".
The parish was first recorded in the 12th century.
The seigneurie of Ervillers has passed down through the families of Viéville, Lalaing, Egmont, Luxembourg, and Diesbach-Belleroche. On 28 August 1654 Ervillers saw a visit from Louis XIV and the Queen mother, who lunched there while travelling on to Péronne and Arras, where the siege had been lifted by Marshal Turenne.
Ervillers also has several underground shelters. They were probably old quarries and were turned into "muches." One of these underground caves was about 20 meters underground and had 9 rooms, a corridor, a stable and animal pens. Wells provided both ventilation and a water supply.
In December 1870 the Prussians pillaged the village. Ervillers was also the theatre of operations during the Battle of Bapaume (1871) in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71.
The First World War saw the village suffer total destruction.

Population

Historical population of Ervillers

Year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
Population	394	398	386	390	434	449
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Places of interest

• The church of St. Martin, rebuilt, as was most of the village, after World War I.
• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery.

See also

• Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
• Arthur Henry Cross - who won the Victoria Cross at Ervillers in 1918

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• The CWGC cemetery at Ervillers
• Ervillers on the Quid website (French)