An elegant residence and its outbuildings, built on the ruins of a 12th century abbey,
in 7 hectares of enclosed parklands near to Angers
in 7 hectares of enclosed parklands near to Angers
Angers, MAINE-ET-LOIRE
pays-de-loire
49000
FR
Location
Set in the countryside, very near to the town of Angers. The nearest shops and amenities are in the centre of a neighbouring market town, just 5 minutes away. Angers, with its TGV train station providing 1½-hour links to Paris (ten daily return journeys), is about 15 minutes away. Slip roads for the A81 and A11 motorways are 10 minutes away. The banks of the rivers Loir and Sarthe are also nearby.
Description
Turning off the main road, a lane bordered by old trees goes to a monumental, rusticated stone, entrance porchway, flanked by pilasters. It provides access to a driveway going to a second porchway, topped with a triangular pediment. The latter leads into a courtyard, enclosed by the residence and the outbuildings. Completely walled parklands, laid out all around these buildings over more than 7 ha, are bordered on the southern side by the old moat, still filled with water. In the parklands near to the residence is a square bell-tower tower, once part of the old abbey church. Constructed from freestone, it is topped with a Mansard roof. Also in the parklands, adjoining the perimeter wall, is an oratory.
The residence
Composed of two buildings forming a right angle between them, this residence is constructed from lime rendered quarry stone blocks. It spans three levels, one of which is an attic floor. Its hip, slate roof is topped with a steeple and alternately features roof dormers as well as oculi, topped with triangular pediments, on both the courtyard and garden sides. The roof dormers, the oculi and their pediments, the cornice, the window framing and the quoins are all made of freestone. On the garden side, one of the buildings can be accessed via a horseshoe-shaped, stone stairway whilst the other is bordered by a terrace, looking slightly down on to the garden, reached via a few slate steps.
Ground floor
The main entrance hall can be reached via the courtyard and via the back garden. It provides access, on one side, to a first lounge and, on the other, to a second lounge which is extended initially by a dining room opening into a kitchen (a pantry can be reached from both these rooms) and, then, by a study and, lastly, by the back entrance hall, with a toilet. The first lounge leads to the storeroom. The study and the back entrance hall are housed in the outbuilding behind the orangery. A quarter-turning, wooden stairway in the main entrance hall goes upstairs. All the rooms on this level have exposed ceiling beams. The first lounge features a stone fireplace and sea-rush matting. The second has a marble fireplace and parquet flooring. The dining room, with its fireplace, is laid with cement floor tiles.
First floor
The landing leads, on one side, to a hall area providing access to two bedrooms, a toilet as well as a first shower room and, on the other side, to a dressing room opening into a bedroom and to a hall area. The latter bedroom also opens into the first shower room. The hall area leads to three adjoining bedrooms, a shower room, a toilet and a bathroom. The floors are covered with terracotta tiles or strip pattern parquet flooring. Some of the bedrooms are enhanced with marble or freestone fireplaces, topped with painted trumeaux.
Second floor
This entire level is taken up by various attics.
The outbuildings
Bordering the courtyard on one side of the second entrance porchway, are the guest house, the garages as well as the storeroom and, on the other side, stables, a barn and storage areas. Behind the garages are a kennel and a dovecote. Behind the stables is an open barn. All these buildings are constructed from lime-rendered quarry stone blocks. They are topped with gable or hip, slate roofs, one of which features a freestone roof dormer.
The parklands
The enclosed courtyard is landscaped with decoratively trimmed shrubs. A central well features a wooden structure, supporting a hip, slate roof. Railings form two of its sides and wrought iron gates, flanked by freestone pillars, open into the parklands.
These completely enclosed parklands comprise three sections. A large meadow on the west side. A bower, lawns and numerous copses of trees and shrubs on the south side. Grassy driveways delimited by trimmed copses and mixed border topiary bushes on the east side near the oratory. The old moat delimits the parklands to the south near to a third porchway, vestige of an entrance no longer in use. The great variety of plants, shrubs and miscellaneous species is outstanding.
Our opinion
The abbey, founded in the 12th century, was mostly reduced to ruins at the time of the French Revolution. The residence, which was then constructed on these old foundations and which is visible today, is a good example of the character of the Age of Reason, prevailing at this time. It was this character that also inspired the current owners when landscaping the outstanding gardens that now surround the property. Furthermore, the old abbey, initially home to Benedictine monks, followed by Cistercian nuns, has not completely disappeared. Vestiges such as the majestic bell-tower, dominating the parklands, and the oratory, set in the parklands and extending an invitation to residents to relax, are still in existence. Near to the town, this perfect, enclosed haven is not cut off from the rest of the world.
1 150 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 210507
| Land registry surface area | 7 ha 28 a 19 ca |
| Main building surface area | 350 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 6 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 800 m2 |
Share
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.
