GUERET  , a

town of central France, capital of the department of Creuse, situated on a mountain declivity 48 M . N.E. of Limoges on the Orleans railway . Pop . (1906), town, 6042; commune (including troops, &c.), 8o58 . Apart from the Hotel desMonneyroux (used as prefecture), a picturesque mansion of the 15th and 16th centuries, with mansard roofs and mullioned windows, Gueret has little architectural interest . It is the seat of a prefect and a court of assizes, and has a tribunal of first instance, a chamber of commerce and lycees and training colleges, for both sexes . The industries include brewing, saw-milling, leather-making and the manufacture of basket-work and wooden shoes, and there is trade in agricultural produce and cattle . Gueret grew up round an abbey founded in the 7th century, and in later times became the capital, of the district of Marche .