Location

Built in a tiny square, in the centre of a village typical of the French department of Gard, with its former coaching inn, its winery and its church, 29 km (18 miles) from Nîmes, with its TGV train station and its airport, near to Anduze, Uzès and Alès, gateway to the Cévennes mountains. 60 km (38 miles) from the sea and 58 (36) from Montpellier, this castle is well integrated in the town to which it gives character; backing on to scrubland with a forest of green oaks and Alep pines coming right up to the walls around the parklands, and facing down on to the village and the vine-dotted plain where the two Gardon rivers join up in front of a large loop. Situated in the Languedoc region, the French department of Gard has tourist sites that just have to be visited together with its outstanding natural sites (the “pont du Gard”, the arenas, the square house and fountain gardens in Nîmes, Aigues-Mortes’ fortifications, Anduze’s bamboo grove, the Cevenol valleys, the Camargue and the long beaches along the coast, etc.).

Description

The castle, cited as of the 13th century, still features the bonding of the walls of the former keep on the ground floor. Destroyed and rebuilt on more than one occasion, its current form dates from the reign of Louis XIII. Attacked by the dragoons of Louis XIV after the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, it was burned during the French revolution. Its current appearance is owed to the grandparents of the current owners. In the shape of an upside-down “L”, the long arm of which, in part interrupted on the ground floor by the abutment on the parklands’ wall, provides a superb 18th century-style facade, comprising a slight projection at each of its ends with finely highlighted openings. This façade features a through vault opening on to a narrow village street. The entrance door, framed with sculpted modillions, is set in the left projection and provides access to a vast 45 m² (484 sq ft) vestibule, with moulded vaulted archways, extending into the large stairway with 18th century-style balusters leading up to the first floor.

The ground floor where all the rooms are vaulted was predominantly given over to domestic purposes with a former 46 m² (495 sq ft) kitchen, oven and vast fireplace, a 24 m² (258 sq ft) wine cellar, another large 39 m² (420 sq ft) room, passageways and back stairways, a 37 m² (398 sq ft) garage as well as a wood shed and a small courtyard. With its gated street entrance, a grass courtyard in front of the small arm of the “L” could be used as a car parking area.
Part of the charm of this building comes from its complex layout and its design, for instance the first floor on one side becomes the garden level a few yards away on another side.

Having climbed the stairway, the vestibule on the first floor communicates on one side with adjoining lounges with stone floors featuring inlaid marble decoration and on the other side, with the 46 m² (495 sq ft) dining room, with herringbone parquet flooring, a kitchen, a back kitchen, utility rooms and bathroom and toilet facilities; a stairway leads upstairs to the bedrooms at the intersection of the two arms of the “L”. The spacious, soberly decorated lounges with ceilings 3.5 m (11.5 ft) high and with tall windows and French windows, follow on one from another: a 37 m² (398 sq ft) library, followed by a smaller 12.5 m² (135 sq ft) room (as it is situated over the passage from the street), then a 33 m² (355 sq ft) lounge, then a 38 m² (409 sq ft) “blue” lounge and lastly a former 46 m² (495 sq ft) billiards room with a sealed bull’s eye window. A few steps lead down from these latter rooms on to a gravelled terrace that overlooks the parklands and features the remains of old vases from Anduze. A former room beneath this terrace has been transformed into a tank. Behind the small arm of the “L”, backing on to the dining room, and currently difficult to get to, is a huge terrace.
Spanning almost 200 m² (2,153 sq ft), it is bordered by balusters and overlooks a street. Underneath the terrace, a large room on a level with the grass courtyard could be used as garages. The bedroom floor (with windows featuring slatted shutters) spanning approx. 360 m² (3,875 sq ft) with two bathrooms and toilets can be accessed via two different stairways. It is divided into 10 or 11 bedrooms, laid out along 2 corridors. The bedrooms have terracotta tiled floors, and often have built-in cupboards, alcoves and wardrobes.
On the floor above, under the roofs which were redone between 1997 and 2004, are two small rooms and a former dovecote. Even higher is a covered terrace that dominates the village, the vine-filled valley and the land that is dependent on the castle even now. The terrace, accessed via the lounges, is extended by the parklands, which comprise two distinct parts. One is based around the terrace and communicates with it via a double porch way with stone balusters. This area was probably devoted to a formal, flower-filled garden. The other predominantly wooded section has one hundred year old chestnut, lime and bay leaf trees whose dense shade creates a shield from the summer sun and shelters a 77m² (829 sq ft) building, once used as a greenhouse or more as an orangery. It was probably used for sheltering, orange and lemon trees and other fragile plants in their famous Anduze vases during past winters.

A little over 4 ha (9.9 acres) of vines in the process of being converted to biological farming and planted with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay stocks are optionally available; as is 54 ha (581 sq ft) or more of forest.

Our opinion

Near to the French department of Provence and only separated by the Rhône, Lower Languedoc is very similar in many ways, but it would clearly be a mistake to confuse them, as although eminently touristy, the region here is much more authentic.

Although there are clearly major works to be carried out to put this large property back into working order, southern properties have far too often been subject to dubious restoration projects for an experienced amateur to miss out on the opportunity of making sure that this one is successful. The attractions of its situation should not be forgotten: the mild climate, the beautiful scenery, the sunshine, the proximity of the beaches as well as winter skiing on Mont Lozère and, who has not dreamed of a feeling of well-being, of dozing in the summer months to the sound of the cicada, in the torpor of the afternoon as it invades the area, when it is time for a nap, behind the closed slatted shutters that let several beams of light, mixed with the scent of the scrubland, filter through?

900 000 € ; Vines 49 000 € ; Forest 118 000 €
Our fees are included in the stated sale price.

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NB: The above information is not only the result of our visit to the property; it is also based on information provided by the current owner. It is by no means comprehensive or strictly accurate especially where surface areas and construction dates are concerned. We cannot, therefore, be held liable for any misrepresentation.