In the heart of Lot-et-Garonne, with remarkable open views,
a miller's house and windmill, within more than 3 ha
a miller's house and windmill, within more than 3 ha
Aiguillon,
LOT-ET-GARONNE
aquitaine
47190
FR
Location
Situated in Lot-et-Garonne, at the heart of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the property occupies a favoured position midway between Bordeaux and Toulouse. Agen, a town of around 100,000 inhabitants, lies 30 km away and is served by a TGV station with direct trains to Paris in 3 hours 10 minutes. A motorway junction for the A62 is 14 km from the property.
Seven kilometres away, a small historic town provides the full range of everyday amenities: secondary schools, a medical centre, banks, a cinema and an SNCF station.
The surrounding countryside is easily explored on foot along nearby walking trails or by car — a region of temperate climate, known for the gentleness of its landscape and its unhurried way of life.
Description
The approach, along an open path without a gate, immediately conveys a sense of discovery — the breeze easy, the light soft, both particular to the region.
At the far end of the estate, an unusual 17th-century flour windmill rises like a watchtower, its elevation affording unbroken views across the valleys of the River Lot and the Confluence. Beside it, the miller's house sits naturally within a landscape of woodland, fields and cultivation — peaceful and remarkably unspoilt.
Both buildings stand on a mound above the valley, resting directly on the plateau's exposed bedrock, an arrangement common in the early 19th century to minimise the depth of foundations. The house has rendered rubble-stone facades; the mill, dressed stone. The house carries roofs of one, two or four pitches in tile; the mill a pepper-pot form clad in wooden shingles.
The main dwelling rises one storey above the ground and is divided into two parts: a private section comprising a sitting room, a bedroom with shower room and lavatory; and a gîte comprising two living rooms, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom on the garden-level floor, with two further bedrooms and a shower room above. The secondary dwelling, fitted out within the mill across three storeys, brings together a kitchen, a shower room with lavatory, a sitting room and a bedroom, one room to each level.
In the garden, a small laundry outbuilding stands alongside a kitchen garden. A Nordic bath completes the property's facilities. There is no pool at present, though one could readily be installed.
At the far end of the estate, an unusual 17th-century flour windmill rises like a watchtower, its elevation affording unbroken views across the valleys of the River Lot and the Confluence. Beside it, the miller's house sits naturally within a landscape of woodland, fields and cultivation — peaceful and remarkably unspoilt.
Both buildings stand on a mound above the valley, resting directly on the plateau's exposed bedrock, an arrangement common in the early 19th century to minimise the depth of foundations. The house has rendered rubble-stone facades; the mill, dressed stone. The house carries roofs of one, two or four pitches in tile; the mill a pepper-pot form clad in wooden shingles.
The main dwelling rises one storey above the ground and is divided into two parts: a private section comprising a sitting room, a bedroom with shower room and lavatory; and a gîte comprising two living rooms, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom on the garden-level floor, with two further bedrooms and a shower room above. The secondary dwelling, fitted out within the mill across three storeys, brings together a kitchen, a shower room with lavatory, a sitting room and a bedroom, one room to each level.
In the garden, a small laundry outbuilding stands alongside a kitchen garden. A Nordic bath completes the property's facilities. There is no pool at present, though one could readily be installed.
The private section of the miller's house
The main living space faces due south, the sitting room opening to a fitted kitchen with base units. Floors combine encaustic tiles and parquet in the sitting room area.
A hallway leads to a lavatory and a wardrobe fitted into an unfinished passage that will in due course connect to the level below, where the garden-level floor has a concrete slab, frames in place and technical provisions roughed in at ceiling height, with several rooms yet to be completed.
At the rear, a bedroom overlooking the landscape is extended by a shower room. Ceiling heights across this slightly mansard level range from 2.10 to 3.80 m.
The gîte section of the miller's house
A Virginia creeper drapes the wall leading to a large north-facing terrace with far-reaching views.
The garden-level floor
Accessed from the terrace, the kitchen is fitted with base units only and opens to the sitting room.
Nearby, a bedroom with painted walls shares the warm, authentic character of the rest of the house. Tiled floors run from the kitchen through to the large bathroom, which is equipped with a bath, a shower, a basin and a lavatory, and connects to the sitting room by a wooden door.
In the living room, pine boards laid in an offset pattern cover the sitting area; the dining area is finished in terrazzo tiles. Two walls of exposed stonework and a wood-burning stove reinforce the warmth of the interior in winter. The ceilings throughout carry exposed raw-timber joists.
The upstairs
A quarter-turn wooden staircase rises from a corner of the sitting room to the upper level, where boarded ceilings leave part of the roof structure exposed. Two bedrooms, a shower room and a separate lavatory occupy this level. Floors are parquet throughout, and the walls are painted in muted, harmonious tones.
The windmill
The mill stands 7 m high, built entirely in rounded dressed stone, tightly jointed with minimal mortar and walls 1 m thick at the base. The pepper-pot roof, recently rebuilt, is clad in American red cedar shingles. The whole stands on a mound, with no cellar.
Beyond a small wooden door, each level is reached by a narrow staircase, in stone on the lower levels and timber above. The ground floor holds a fitted kitchen with a dining area and a fireplace; the floor is in terracotta tiles and an opening frames a view over the valley. The first level has a shower room with lavatory and water heater. The second holds a small sitting room, and the top level is occupied by a bedroom beneath the mill's timber roof structure, lit by a north-facing window.
The walls retain their exposed stonework throughout. The timber floors serve as the ceilings of the levels below, each with ceiling heights between 2.10 and 2.65 m and a floor area of over 10 m².
The outdoor areas
At the end of the drive, a natural clearing provides parking close to the miller's house. Flowering borders surround the house: St John's wort, rhododendrons, roses, fuchsias, autumn asters and helianthus (a close relative of the sunflower). To the north, the ground slopes away alongside the miller's house, giving way gradually to wilder vegetation.
Set on a high plateau, the garden extends to the mill, screened from view. Mainly laid to lawn and punctuated by copses, it offers a kitchen garden organised in raised beds and a Nordic bath discreetly integrated into the landscape. Further on, the garden merges into the plateau's meadows, scattered with truffle oaks, hazel and walnut trees.
Below, scrubland and woodland form a protective screen that preserves the property's privacy. Oaks, junipers, dogwoods and black locusts grow slowly here in a sheltered atmosphere. Here and there, gaps in the planting open to distant views over the surrounding valleys.
Our opinion
Three centuries-old dwellings, each independent, each immersed in a landscape that will speak to lovers of authenticity and those seeking some distance from the pace of contemporary life. Here, the eye travels to a horizon that holds its appeal without end.
The careful, warm renovation of the mill and the miller's house, with its strong architectural lines, fine materials, period elements and updated comfort, opens the property to a range of possibilities: a peaceful country retreat, a bed and breakfast for guests in search of repose, or simply a family home in the countryside with room to entertain.
Gentleness of form and strength of character sit together here, under a light that holds year-round and sometimes makes this singular place shimmer with the intensity of a vision.
360 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 922396
| Land registry surface area | 3 ha 14 a 6 ca |
| Main building floor area | 230 m² |
| Number of bedrooms | 5 |
French Energy Performance Diagnosis
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.
