A 17th-century chateau listed as a historical monument with outbuildings and 113 hectares
of grounds, tucked away in France’s bucolic Sarthe department, just two hours from Paris
of grounds, tucked away in France’s bucolic Sarthe department, just two hours from Paris
Le Mans,
SARTHE
pays-de-loire
72000
FR
Location
The estate lies in France’s Sarthe department, just outside a village and less than 10 minutes from a small town with shops and amenities for all your needs. The surroundings are ideal for walks and horse-riding. The area is renowned for its wealth of built heritage. The towns of La Ferté-Bernard et Bellême are less than 30 kilometres away. The cities of Le Mans and Alençon are 35 kilometres from the property. La Ferté-Bernard is next to the A11 motorway. From the train station in this town, you can reach Le Mans by rail and then central Paris. The French capital is 190 kilometres to the west.
Description
The chateau is isolated in its natural backdrop. Two drives, closed with tall gates, lead to the edifice. On the north-east side, the drive that starts from the village, near the parish church and the former presbytery, runs alongside a large meadow, an English-style garden and a small wood where there is an old feudal motte and an ice house in ruins – a remnant of the first chateau built here before the 17th century. On the south-west side, a stream crosses paths with the other long drive, which is lined with trees and snakes through fields. The buildings are spread out between a raised terrace court and a lower forecourt that is partly enclosed with a water-filled moat. This pyramidal layout is centred on an avenue running from south to north and on the commanding position of the chateau’s central section. In the raised court, the chateau forms a U shape around the terrace, which is edged with a retaining wall on the forecourt side to its south. In the forecourt, the main outbuilding, which stands in line with the chateau’s west wing, houses a stable, a saddle room, a dwelling, a storeroom and an orangery. A tower marks the south-east corner of this landscaped plot. The farming buildings, including a barn with cowsheds and a press room, a pigsty and the caretaker’s dwelling are set back, on a plot that neighbours the west side of the forecourt.
The chateau
The chateau is made of rubble stone coated with rendering. It offers a floor area of around 750m². It has a central section with a basement, a raised ground floor and a hipped tiled roof. Two round towers adjoin its north side. And on its south side, two wings protrude from this main section at a right angle to it. The five bays of the central section have dormers at the top. Some of these dormers bear coats of arms. From outside, a symmetrical pair of flights of steps leads from the terrace up to the entrance hall on the ground floor. On the north side, the ground floor is level with the garden.
The base level
The basement extends beneath the whole of the ground floor. A long corridor on the south side connects to many cellars and rooms, including a storeroom, a boiler room, a linen room, cellars, pantries and workshops. Doors lead to the terrace and gardens from the two wings. In the east wing, there is a vast, old kitchen with a bread oven. It is listed as a historical monument.
The ground floor
The ground floor is made up of a series of connecting rooms. You enter it via the entrance hallway, which is in the middle bay. On one side, there is a staircase, filled with natural light on the south side. Next, there is a dual-aspect dining room and a kitchen in the north-west tower. The west wing houses a reading room, a small room, a music room, a bedroom, a photo laboratory and an artist’s studio. On the other side of the hallway, there is a dual-aspect reception room that takes up two bays of the central section and then a passageway to the west wing. The northern extension of the east wing includes an old bathroom. This bathroom’s floor and walls are adorned with ceramic tiles. The room leads straight out to the garden, at the same level as it, via French windows. The section that extends the west wing probably used to house a chapel. It also leads straight out to the garden via French windows. This comfortable wing includes a lavatory, a small lounge, an office, a kitchen and a dining room. The main staircase winds upwards in a U shape. It leads to the upper floors and to secondary stairs in the two wings.
The first floor
On the first floor, most of the rooms have wood strip flooring and 19th-century marble fireplaces. From the landing to which the grand staircase takes you, you reach two glazed doors. One leads to the west wing, where there are two bedrooms with a bathroom and a lavatory in the adjoining north tower. In the central section, behind the other glazed door, a hallway connects to four bedrooms. In the east section, the landing connects to a small corridor that takes you to a dual-aspect bedroom with an adjoining shower room. Next, there is a walk-in wardrobe, then a bedroom with a double alcove and then a small bedroom and a bathroom with a lavatory in the adjoining north-east tower.
The second floor
The central staircase leads up to the second floor, which has four domestic staff bedrooms, two rooms to be converted, and a loft space.
The main outbuilding and tower
The main outbuilding is made of rubble stone and coated with rendering. It is crowned with a roof of local tiles. It has a long ground floor that includes garages, a stable, a cowshed and storerooms. Lofts extend above it. The windows and dormers are set in ashlar surrounds. The carriage doors are set in semicircular arches. The south end wall marks an orangery. It has three French windows also set in semicircular arches. They look straight down at the moat. This elevation is crowned with a balustrade of tiled openwork embellished with cast-iron vases. The tower has false arrow slits. A cornice of neatly carved stone imitates a row of machicolations. The tower’s cone roof is crowned with a roof lantern. There is a bread oven on the ground floor, where an open staircase leads up to the two upper floors.
The farmyard buildings
This series of buildings is made of rubble stone coated with rendering. The quoins are made of brick and the window and door surrounds and stringcourse are made of neatly carved stone. On the ground floor, a barn with cowsheds and a press room form the central bay. Above, there are haylofts. Long slopes of flat tiles form the roof. Two lean-tos with slate roofs adjoin the end walls and house pigsties at one end and a cowshed at the other. A hen house adjoins the cowshed.
The caretaker’s house
The caretaker’s house has a central section with a square first floor. It is flanked with wings on both sides. Its roofing has long slopes. An extension adjoins it at the back. This house offers a floor area of around 60m². It was fully restored 10 years ago and includes a lounge, a kitchen, a shower room with a lavatory and two bedrooms.
The grounds
The grounds cover around 113 hectares. There are 12 hectares of free land, not leased out, that immediately surround the chateau. In front of the chateau, the court is enclosed with a water-filled moat. The estate is enclosed with copses. A former walled kitchen garden lies behind a hedge. An old greenhouse that could be restored stands there. Behind the chateau, there is an English-style garden with tall trees of different varieties. A vast meadow extends to the end of the estate. One both sides, there is a small wood with lanes running through it. One of them leads to an old feudal motte, the site of a former castle. At the foot of this motte, there is a domed ice house set in an artificial earthen mound. You reach it from outside via a corridor. The rest of the estate is made up of over 100 hectares of meadows and cultivated fields, leased out for farming to three farmers. Annual income from this land covers some of the property's expenses. There is also a hunting lease for the land. It can be renewed annually.
Our opinion
History echoes in each stone on this vast estate tucked away among the hedge-lined meadows of France’s Sarthe department. Today, this chateau is listed as a historical monument. Over the centuries, it has become an elegant country home. Its grand elevations hide spacious rooms that are magnified with historical decorative details and remarkable architectural features. The tree-dotted grounds are landscaped in an English style and the terraces offer harmonious vistas of natural beauty where outbuildings are reflected in the water-filled moat. Nestled in an unspoilt bucolic backdrop, this property calls for ambitious projects, less than two hours from the French capital.
2 000 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 401731
| Land registry surface area | 113 ha 76 a 78 ca |
| Main building floor area | 765 m² |
| Number of bedrooms | 14 |
| Outbuildings floor area | 450 m² |
| including refurbished area | 30 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.
