Beuzet

consult the map of Beuzet 

Population

1,200

Surface area

751 ha

How it got its name

According to one interpretation Beuzet means the home of Bozo, while other experts claim it refers to a little ditch.

Inhabitants

They are referred to as Beuzetois(e)

Whereabouts

The village is situated on an extensive area of upland whose altitude fluctuates considerably, varying from 130 to 185 metres.
Beuzet is divided north to south by the Brussels-Namur highway and the 161 railway line from Brussels to Namur (Coast-Luxembourg route).
Accessible via the N4 Brussels-Namur highway and the Brussels-Namur railway line.

• History

A place named Le Bois Henry, at the north-west tip of the village, is the site where prehistorical traces were found. The flint tools found there are evidence that the site was occupied from the Upper Paleolithic to the Late Neolithic period.
Back in the middles ages, Beuzet was part of the earldom of Namur and for a long time was nothing more than a land lordship, whose owner could mete out justice related solely to land.
High justice (highest penal authority) and middle justice continued to fall within the jurisdiction of the earldom of Namur.
The western part of the village, Ferooz, formed a jurisdictional lordship, and was owned by the family with the same name. As a result of a marriage it then passed into the hands of de Waret family in the mid 16th century, to end up being owned by the Helman family in the second half of the 17th century. The last lord of Ferooz was Jean-François Hyacinthe Helman, who was also the final lord of Beuzet.
In 1628, the jurisdictional lordship of Beuzet was included among those that the King of Spain granted to general Jean t’Serclaes de Tilly, a keen supporter of the Catholic cause during the 30 Years War.
The Beuzet jurisdictional lordship was acquired in 1755 by the Helman family, who had already become lords of the manor in the village during the previous century.
These lordships were phased out when France annexed the Austrian Netherlands in 1795, so Beuzet became a municipality in the canton of Gembloux within the department of Sambre-et-Meuse. Ferooz was then attached to the municipality.
The people who lived in Ferooz proceeded in 1830 to lodge an appeal with the governors of Province of Namur, asking them to allow their hamlet to become an independent municipality or be attached to Bossière but the request was turned down.
In terms of worship, Beuzet originally depended partly on St. Denis and Bossière.
When the concordat was ushered in, in 1803, the village was entirely dependent upon Bossière for its spiritual needs.
When it became an independent parish in 1842 Beuzet was provided with a church. Beuzet's municipal council announced in 1849 its wish for Ferooz to be incorporated into the parish of Beuzet, so as to have a single location for civil and religious instruments. The situation has never changed since, hence Ferooz has remained part of the parish of Bossière until the present day.
Beuzet's status as an independent municipality ended subsequent to the merger of the municipalities, on 2 January, 1977, when the locality became a part of Gembloux.

• A must-see

The neo-classical St. Pierre church was built in Beuzet in 1862.
Ferooz castle was built in a park surrounded by walls. Built in the second half of 18th century, the castle was revamped and extended in the 20th century.
The castle farm forms a complex made of brick and bluestone dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. It was built on the basis of a core area probably dating back to the 16th century, which still features a square tower.
Located at 13, rue Chainisse, the Farm of the Valley is home to the Escargot de l’Ourchet breeding activities. The snails (Helix Aspersa Petits gris and Gros Gris) have been issued with the Walloon Region's quality label for farmed snails. 60,0000 gastropoda are reared in this establishment, according to strict standards that serve to guarantee consumers unimpaired quality. Guided visits with opportunities for tasting are organised.