A Renaissance dwelling with guesthouses, outbuildings and a French formal
garden, in a village near the River Loire, 30 minutes from the city of Angers
garden, in a village near the River Loire, 30 minutes from the city of Angers
Angers,
MAINE-ET-LOIRE
pays-de-loire
49000
FR
Location
The property lies in France’s beautiful Maine-et-Loire department, in the middle of the Pays de la Loire region. It is tucked away in a village near the banks of the River Loire. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is less than 10 minutes from a characterful town, which is nestled among many vineyards and is overlooked by the largest chateau in the local Anjou province. This town offers shops and amenities, as well as a vibrant weekly market. The city of Angers with its high-speed train station is roughly 30 minutes away. From this station you can get to Paris in around 1 hour and 30 minutes by rail. The station offers around 10 return trips to the French capital each day. And you can easily get onto the A85 and A11 motorways too.
Description
A narrow street in the village leads to the property’s different entrances. This property was once a priory that belonged to Fontevraud Abbey, as can be seen in an inscription on one of the walls. The carriage entrance gate, made of tuffeau stone, is arched and has mouldings. It leads into a gravelled court that extends a French formal garden. The house has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. It is made of rubble stone and dressed tuffeau stone. The main driveway is edged with a square corner tower and a square facade tower, which houses the staircase. The facade has a loggia balcony with a flight of schist stone steps, which has a solid balustrade of tuffeau stone and leads up from the courtyard. A bakehouse adjoins the western gable wall. The play of slate roofs is remarkable: upon the loggia balcony there is a single-slope roof, supported by a tuffeau-stone pillar; upon the main section there is a two-slope roof, punctuated with dormers; upon the bakehouse there is a three-slope roof; and upon the two towers there are four-slope roofs. Impressive gargoyles of tuffeau stone – a griffon at the back and a dog at the front – mark the roof-end edges at the top of the western gable wall. The courtyard also leads to an outbuilding that serves as a garage, to one of the two guesthouses and to a gatehouse beside the pedestrian entrance gate. At the bottom of the French formal garden, there is, on one side, a second guesthouse with an adjoining former washhouse and, on the other side, an open-sided shelter with a workshop. Beyond, the lush grounds edge the surrounding countryside. Behind the outbuilding, there are two earthen terraces, separated by a wall. They run alongside the court and the French formal garden. A gate leads out to a narrow street. There is a stable and a greenhouse on the upper earthen terrace. The property is enclosed with walls, except for the countryside-facing section. All the buildings have been restored masterfully. Some of them are even listed by the Fondation du Patrimoine, France’s leading association for conservation of the country’s built heritage.
The main house
The ground floor
The ground floor has a kitchen with a dining area, a scullery and an 8m² utility and boiler room. The dining room has a floor of terracotta tiles and a French-style beamed ceiling. In one of the walls, there is a tuffeau-stone fireplace, inside which a door leads to the bakehouse. From this room, which leads out to both the front and back of the house, a stone spiral staircase leads to the two upper floors.
The upstairs
A landing connects to a lounge and, beyond it, to a bedroom with a bathroom and lavatory. Versailles parquet extends across the lounge. The bedroom floor is terracotta-tiled. French-style beamed ceilings extend above the rooms. Each room has a tuffeau-stone fireplace with a Renaissance trumeau panel. The bedroom and bathroom lead straight out onto the loggia balcony.
The attic
The roof space has been converted into two connecting bedrooms with a bathroom and lavatory. The bedrooms are fitted with wardrobes. The beams of the roof frame are exposed up here. And the floor is carpeted.
The first guesthouse
You reach the first guesthouse from the courtyard. It has a ground floor and a first floor in the roof space. It is made of tuffeau stone and rubble stone with pointing that leaves the stonework slightly exposed. Its gabled slate roof has a stone-mullioned dormer. The quoins, the cornice, the roof-end edges, the dormer and the window and door surrounds are made of tuffeau stone.
The ground floor
The ground floor has a kitchen, a lavatory and a lounge with a dining area. The floors are terracotta-tiled and French-style beamed ceilings extend above them. The lounge has a tuffeau-stone fireplace with a Renaissance trumeau panel. From the kitchen, a wooden staircase with a balustrade leads up to the roof space. The kitchen leads out onto a sandstone-tiled terrace at the back of the house. The lounge also leads out onto this terrace and onto the terrace beside the western gable wall too, which is sheltered by a climbing rose bush.
The attic
A landing connects to a bedroom and to a bathroom with a lavatory. Oak strip flooring extends across the rooms.
The second guesthouse
The second guesthouse stands at the bottom of the French formal garden. It has a ground floor and a first floor in the roof space. It is made of tuffeau stone and is crowned with a gabled slate roof with a dormer up to which an outdoor flight of schist stone steps climbs. A sandstone-paved terrace lies in front of the facade. An open-sided washhouse of yesteryear with its roof and tub – still filled up with water from a spring – adjoins the western gable wall.
The ground floor
The ground floor has a lounge with a dining area and a kitchenette. A floor of Burgundy stone slabs extends beneath a French-style beamed ceiling. From this room, a beechwood spiral staircase leads upstairs.
The attic
A landing connects to a bedroom, which connects to a shower room with a lavatory. Oak strip flooring extends across the rooms. The room leads out to the outdoor flight of steps.
The outbuildings
The garage offers a 50m² floor area. Its ceiling height reaches five metres. The gatehouse offers a 7m² floor area and serves as a storehouse. At the bottom of the garden, on one side, there is a woodstore and a workshop. They offer a total floor area of 30m². On the second earthen terrace there is a former stable with a 110m² floor area. It has a ground floor and a first floor, including a convertible loft space. There is also a 30m² greenhouse here. Most of these outbuildings are made of stone and are crowned with slate roofs.
The grounds
The grounds cover almost one hectare. The gravelled courtyard is embellished with roses, hydrangeas and agapanthuses. Extensive trellising is fixed to the wall that separates the property from the neighbouring property. Next, there is a French formal garden, which is partly walled. This well-designed garden is arranged around a central pond, which is framed between two rows of neatly trimmed box hedges. There are flowerbeds of rose bushes, also edged with box hedges, and beds of herbs, as well as hornbeam hedging. In one corner, a spring flows up and out. Indeed, this spring is the source of a river that then crosses the local countryside and runs into the River Loire. A greenhouse stands on one of the two earthen terraces. It has been restored and is fitted with water inlets and electrics. Lastly, there is a wilder section: a natural transition towards the surrounding countryside. On the grounds, there are also three wells, including a vaulted one.
Our opinion
As soon as you step through the tall entrance gate leading into these enchanting grounds, you are struck by the sublime elegance of this delightful property. Here, tuffeau stone and slate roofs combine with the sweet fragrance of roses. Fine white stonework brings out remarkable roofs that crown the buildings up to the peaks of the square towers. The interior of this Renaissance dwelling is sumptuous. Outside, the French formal garden underlines this refinement. The property has been restored masterfully, as can be seen in the wooden panelling and window frames, where oak brings warmth and comfort. In the distance, the surrounding countryside forms one of the most beautiful landscapes on the banks of the River Loire. And this bucolic backdrop offers absolute calm too.
Reference 688260
| Land registry surface area | 8039 m² |
| Number of bedrooms | 5 |
| Outbuildings floor area | 235 m² |
Information on the risks to which this property is exposed is available on the website: www.georisques.gouv.fr
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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.
