Sénéchas is a small Cévenol village (240 people) set on a plateau at around 465 metres (1525 feet), in the heart of the northern Cévennes area.

It is in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, at the edge of  the Gard and the Ardèche and close to the Lozère.

The district is 50 km (32 miles) from Alès, 80 km (50 miles) from Nîmes, and 80 km (50 miles) from Mende. 

Click here to pinpoint us on the map.

It stretches between two rivers, the upper valley of the Cèze to the north, and the Homol to the south.

Where these two rivers meet the Sénéchas dam was built, to protect the area downstream from floods and balance the water level.

To reach the village you have to climb far up among pines and chestnut trees growing on terraces retained by dry stone walls.

You have to make a definite decision to go to Sénéchas as no large road runs through it.

This might seem to be a disadvantage, but maybe not.

If you want to find a place away from everything but close to a town, then this is where you can find peace and quiet.

The hilltop situation, close to both Mediterranean and Atlantic slopes, results in a typical Mediterranean climate tempered by the altitude.

View of the village

The southern influence gives temperate winters with little snow, hot dry summers, but also heavy equinoctial rains.

The vegetation and environment are typically Cévenol (chestnuts, schist, granite).

Sénéchas is situated on the eastern flank of the Mont Lozère, a mountain with a long history. For centuries past it has served as a refuge for inhabitants round about, from the time of the Romans to the Camisards.

The Sénéchas district covers an area of 15 km² (3700 acres).

It is made up of the village and several hamlets - Charnavas, Chalap, Martinenches, Mallenches, Rouis, Les Brugèdes, Les Fontanilles, and various "mas" (farmhouses) between.

The district is situated in the peripheral zone of the Cévennes National Park, the only inhabited forest park on a mountain of medium altitude.

The church at sunrise

Like the great "Causses" (plateau), or the coastal plains, our region saw the beginnings of agriculture followed by the spread of pastoral stock-herding, from the end of the Neolithic era onwards.

The megaliths and sepulchral chests found along the Cévenol ridges date from this period.

Near the Sénéchas menhir a polished stone axe was discovered in the foundations of a house.

On the ridge opposite Sénéchas stands the Elzière tumulus, a vast funereal monument from the late pre-historic period, reutilized in the early Middle Ages.

There is a mysterious site known as Sauto Cabro "goat leap" on the banks of the Cèze. It consists of a covered chamber 70 metres long and there are more than fifty staircases in the area.

At about the same level, near the meeting of the Cèze and the Homol, there is a similar, but smaller, site known as Les Issarts.

The prehistoric site of Sauto Cabro

The Sénéchas menhir

There are about fifty engraved rocks in the district.
Rock engravings of this type are frequently found in the mica schist areas of the Cévennes.

They are generally supposed to date from the same period.

At the time of the Roman conquest in 121BC, the region was placed in the Narbonne province.

Several Roman coins have been found on the Sénéchas plateau.

According to certain authors Sénéchas might owe its existence to a colony of Sénonais (inhabitants of the town of Sens), fleeing before the conquering Caesar. The etymology of the name would therefore be "Senenum casa", the home of the Senonais.

After the 4th century, the dioceses reused the rural territorial limits set up by the Roman administration.

Rock engraving in the hamlet of Chalap

So, as early as 419AD, date of the constitution of the diocese of Uzès, a Christian sanctuary replaced the original monument, on the site of the present parish church.

In the 12th century, the monks who were clearing the area built a small Romanesque church, 8m by 4m, of which two arches remain.
This was converted in the 16th century into a church measuring 12m by 4m, which remained, with some restoration, until 1875.

Click here for more information about the history of Sénéchas church.

Sénéchas, a parish within the Génolhac deanery, was known in the 13th century as Chaneschas, and in the 15th century as Chaneschez, the modern name appeared in the 17th century.

Sénéchas was a priory devoted to Our Lady of the Assumption, under the bishop of Uzès, with the Ribaute family holding the right of presentation to the benefice.

The Olivon tower

The church had a chaplaincy as a benefice, under the invocation of St Gilles.

That place, the villa of Chaneschas or Chanessas, was one of those whose title was confirmed to the bishop of Uzès in 1211 by the king of France, Philip Augustus.

The bishop was therefore its overlord.

In 1327, Raymond Pelet, Lord of Alais, did homage to Guillaume III of Mandagout,  bishop of Uzès, for what was his in Sénéchas and various other places.

Before the Revolution, Sénéchas belonged to the  Uzès diocese. Its chapel of ease was established  by  decree dated 7 prairial An XIII (6th June 1805).

The curacy, decreed on the 7th November 1818, was transferred elsewhere.

The population by then was about 390 Catholics.

Cévenol peasant from the beginning of the last century, climbing up to a "faisse" (terrace), with his "sacol" (sack), his "béchard" (mattock) and his "banastou" (basket). - Reconstitution -

In  1839, the south-western section of the Sénéchas territory was separated off to form another Council district: le Chambon.

For centuries the inhabitant of Sénéchas, like all Cévenols, lived by cultivating his terraces, above all the chestnuts, known as the "bread tree".

In 1872, with the growth of mining, the population of Sénéchas increased greatly.

A "clède" (chestnut drying shed)

The "sole" (boot) used to"piser" (skin) the chestnuts

The 1914-1918 war and the end of the mining period caused great harm to the area but its inhabitants have been able to fight back. 

In the sixties a group of local inhabitants and Scouts worked together to bring piped water to the area.

At the same time, young people of all nationalities, belonging to the "Compagnons Batisseurs" Association, joined in the construction of the Esfiel housing estate and built the Bastides estate.

In the summer of 2006 we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the arrival of piped water and the 30th anniversary of the Church Restoration Committee. Click below to see the photo album of those memorable achievements from the sixties, and of the celebration in 2006.

If you were one of those who participated in those great adventures, perhaps you will find your picture there.

Currently the area is developing thanks to tourism and to its small industrial enterprises.