Location
The picturesque village in which the edifice stands is located in the undulating Ardre Valley, also known as the ‘coronation route’, on the northwestern edge of the Marne area and at the meeting point of the Grand Est and Hauts-de-France regions. This sector plays home to many Romanesque as well as Gothic churches and is famous for witnessing many French kings pass through on their way to Reims Cathedral.
The largely unsullied landscape made up of fields, forests and parcelled Champagne vineyards is listed is a UNESCO world heritage site. Within this protected zone, the Montagne de Reims regional natural park can be reached in around 15 minutes by road. Lastly, the A4 motorway is 18 kilometres away, while Paris can be reached by high-speed TGV train in 45 minutes from the station in Reims.
Description
To the right of the automatic gate, two vehicles can be parked in a first outbuilding, next to which there is a workshop and a store for gardening equipment.
The mainly south-facing residence can be found higher up in the garden and can be reached by a winding paved path punctuated by several steps. The two-storey edifice, espousing the slope in the land over its full length, stands above a cellar, is made of pointed rubble stone and is topped by a gabled roof made of flat tiles. Its facades are dotted by an irregular arrangement of rectangular windows, while its roof is punctuated by equidistantly spaced gabled dormers.
Inside, its architecture is dominated by stone and wood. The living rooms, including two lounges, are, in keeping with classic tradition, located on the ground floor. On the western gable wall, there is a covered patio, while upstairs there are three bedrooms, a shower room and a bathroom.
To the rear of the house, a small building houses the boiler room and woodstore. All the outbuildings are made of the same materials as the house.
Lastly, the carefully composed, slightly sloping garden includes an orchard to the rear.
The residence
It is made of pointed rubble stone and topped by a roof of flat tiles. Its wooden-framed, double-glazed windows, glass doors and French windows are fitted with shutters and boast ashlar surrounds. Two awnings with whitewashed beams protect the entrance doors.
The gable wall opposite the garage features a wooden balcony, while at the opposite end of the house there is a covered patio with a tiled roof whose corbels come from a medieval bridge.
The ground floor
The main entrance leads into a large kitchen with whitewashed beams, a dining area and an imposing stone fireplace in which a wood-burning stove has been installed. A hallway with cupboards then leads to a large lounge bathed in light, which is separated from the dining room by a half-timbered wall from which the cob has been removed. The lounge boasts a masonry-work fireplace with a wood-burning stove, in which the opening of a stone and thin tiled bread oven can still be seen. A stone sink has also been repurposed into a window seat. A lavatory can be reached via a door in the dining room.
From the lounge, a flight of stone steps leads to an intermediate level with pointed rubble stone walls, in which there is a second lounge. Through wide, sliding patio doors, it opens onto the paved patio, whose roof rests on remarkable corbels that originate from a dismantled medieval bridge. A blazing fire can be enjoyed thanks to the recently installed cast-iron wood-burning stove, while the radiators are all concealed by customised panelling. A mezzanine with a wooden staircase and exposed beams overlooks the lounge, next to the entrance of which a light-coloured oakwood staircase climbs upstairs.
The upstairs
The large landing with wood strip flooring highlights the light-coloured oakwood doors and their contrasting dark ironwork. It leads on one side and the other to a utility room, a shower room, a lavatory, as well as two bedrooms with sloping ceilings and English bond parquet flooring, one of which boasts wardrobe space.
The master bedroom, with wood strip flooring, pointed exposed stonework and a painted roof frame up to its ridge, can be found at the end of the corridor. It boasts an en suite bathroom with a large shower and bath with sculpted lion feet. The French windows on the gable wall open onto the balcony and its unbeatable views of the countryside.
The basement
Behind a door in the lounge, four steps descend to the vaulted stone wine cellar which has a ceiling height of 1.80 metres.
The outbuildings
They were built in the same era as the residence and are also made of pointed rubble stone topped with a flat tiled roof.
While the former barn is used as a garage for two vehicles, the stables currently play host to a workshop as well as a store for gardening equipment.
The last building, to the rear of the residence, is occupied by the boiler and woodstore.
The garden
The edifice enjoys a dense and changing setting thanks to the lush branches of the tall trees and the flowering shrubs. The gently sloping, vast lawned areas are punctuated by stone walls forming different terraces, offering places to sit in seclusion. The more rustic rear of the garden boasts fruit trees including a majestic walnut tree. The garden possesses a surface area of approximately 4,000 m².
Our opinion
The picturesque and immaculate entrance to the village sets the tone, bringing a sensation of tranquillity and balance that is confirmed on entering the property. The excellently maintained garden combines a countryside feel with landscaped elegance. The high quality and remarkably coherent renovation conducted in the residence has relied on noble materials, pure lines and light shades, in keeping with the original architecture. The property combines rural tradition and sober modernity, encouraging the desire to settle in, lay down your belongings and feast your gaze on what lies before you, to recharge your batteries, in an inhabited clearing in the sweeping Champagne countryside.
Reference 562364
| Land registry surface area | 4021 m² |
| Main building floor area | 220 m² |
| Number of bedrooms | 3 |
| Outbuildings floor area | 73 m² |
French Energy Performance Diagnosis
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.