Arlebosc

Geography

Arlebosc is located some 12 km west by south-west of Tournon-sur-Rhône and 8 km north-east of Lamastre. Access to the commune is by the D578 road from Saint-Jeure-d'Ay in the north passing through the village and continuing west then south-west to join the D534 north-west of Lamastre. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Saint-Just in the north-east and Les Fauries in the western extension of the commune. The commune is rugged and heavily forested with some farmland on the eastern side.

The Doux river forms part of the south-western border and flows through the commune from south-west to north-east. The Ruisseau de Balaye forms the western border as it flows south to join the Doux. Other streams rise in the commune and flow south-east to join the Doux. The Merdenc rises in the north of the commune and forms part of the northern border as it flows north-east to join the Daronne south-east of Saint-Félicien.

Toponymy

A legend attributes the name of the commune to one of its Lords: Bozon d'Arles.

In reality, it is a name from the Old French -bosc (a primitive form of bois meaning "wood") attested in the Occitan form of Arlabosc from 912 and Latinized to Allabosco in the 14th century.

Ernest Nègre explained the first element as an Occitan form erela meaning "cranberry". The French term for cranberry (Airelle) is considered to be a borrowing from a variant of the Massif Central or the Alpine éiréla (also airelo). The Provençal aire is also used for "cranberry", from the Latin ater meaning "black", d'où la signification globale de « bois des airelles ».3, so the overall meaning is "forest of cranberries".

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2009 the commune had 354 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

Distribution of Age Groups

The population of the town is relatively old. The ratio of persons above the age of 60 years (29.3%) is higher than the national average (21.8%) and the departmental average (26.8%). Unlike national and departmental allocations, the male population of the town is greater than the female population (50.1% against 48.7% nationally and 49.1% at the departmental level).

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Arlebosc and Ardèche Department in 2009

Sources:

Sites and Monuments

Notable people linked to the commune