The property is nestled in Péronne’s historical district: the Mont des Cygnes, a former site of religious congregations. It is an enclosed plot that covers around 1,750m² on raised ground behind the town’s ramparts.

In the Middle Ages, seigneurs would come here to shoot swans. Today, you can still see swans in the water around the nearby allotments, which are called ‘hardines’ – small, fertile plots that were long cultivated to feed local inhabitants. The house was destroyed in the First World War but rebuilt in 1920 by the great-grandfather of a famous family that had lived in Péronne for 500 years.

A white metal gate adorned with finely crafted volutes stands at a junction in this old district. It leads into a vast courtyard. On the left-hand side of this courtyard, there is a series of outbuildings: a workshop, a utility room and a garage. On the right-hand side, the grand house towers proudly. The edifice’s outer appearance blends into the architectural style of the surrounding buildings, a style characterised by red brick and slate roofs. The house forms a U shape around a small paved court. Its street side faces north-west and its garden side faces south-east.

Only from the rear does the property’s true uniqueness become clear. A splendid garden with a lush lawn in the middle lies there, offering a sweeping view of hedge-lined meadows and marshland stretching into the distance. The rear elevation gives a strong impression of architectural classicism: a central section is flanked with a protruding wing on its right that features a balcony recalling grand aristocratic houses from the 18th century. Its overall symmetry is underlined by ivory-toned dressed stone used for the quoins and window and door surrounds on a red-brick background, tall casement windows, and arched dormers in the mansard roof that stand in line above 10 neatly arranged windows and doors.

The grand house

The house has a ground floor and two upper floors. A raised terrace extends at the foot of its central section and a broad flight of stone steps leads from the rear elevation down to the lawn. The protruding wing on the right has wider windows. On its first floor there is a balcony supported by sculpted corbels and edged with pear-shaped balusters. On the second floor, there is a terrace behind a wrought-iron guardrail. The French windows that lead out onto it are crowned with an imposing antique pediment.

The ground floor
You enter the house from its east side, through a glazed double door with a finely crafted wrought-iron grate. It leads into a hallway with a floor of two-tone cement tiles that are typical of the 1930s. This hall connects to a large lounge, beyond which a dining room lies. A timber staircase climbs upstairs from the hallway. It has three quarter-turns and thin carved balusters. From the hall, you can also reach a bathroom and a bedroom. And a corridor leads to a fitted kitchen that is vast, bright and tiled. This kitchen takes you out to the main courtyard.

The large lounge is a sumptuous reception room that offers a floor area of around 80m². It is a high-ceilinged room flooded with natural light. Its pale-beige decoration includes wooden panelling and refined door and window frames. The ceilings have kept their cornices and decorative edgings. On the garden side, the protruding wing brings much natural light into the large lounge, from where you can admire the garden.

Here, a 1930s ambiance blends with older styles: the wood strip flooring that runs the length of the lounge is flanked with fireplaces – one stands at each end. One of these fireplaces is a Louis XVI style white-marble fireplace mottled with black. It stands beneath a pier glass. The other one is a Napoleon III style fireplace with a mantel of finely carved wood. So, given the period when the house was built, this room is surprising.

Beyond the dining room, there is a bedroom with a view of the garden. It features a black-marble Empire style fireplace beneath a mercury mirror. This impressive fireplace is embellished with golden motifs, sphinx statuettes and lion-paw piers. Beside this bedroom there is a large, bright bathroom, which also connects to a small room designed for professional purposes. The latter leads out to a little court via a small conservatory decorated with warm hues.

The first floor
A vast landing connects to five bedrooms, including one master bedroom with broad French windows that lead out onto a spacious stone balcony overlooking the garden. Wood strip flooring extends across this room and dado panelling embellishes its walls. Two bathrooms and a separate lavatory complete this first floor. Each bedroom has a marble fireplace. Wood strip flooring extends across all of them. Some bedrooms look out at the Somme lakes. Others look out at the small inner court.

The second floor
This floor mirrors the one just below it. A central landing connects to four bedrooms and a bathroom with a lavatory. A vast bedroom like the master bedroom below it offers a spectacular view of the lakes from its terrace. The landing also connects to a corridor. At the end of this corridor there is a door that leads into the roof space, which is divided into two sections separated by a thick internal load-bearing wall.

The cellar
You reach the basement from the entrance. It is made up of several rooms in good condition that are paved with bricks. These cellars offer extra storage space. The basement includes a boiler room and a wine cellar.