A chateau listed as a historical monument, to be restored, with outbuildings including an orangery and a dovecote,
nestled beside a forest in France’s Yonne department in Burgundy, two hours from Paris
nestled beside a forest in France’s Yonne department in Burgundy, two hours from Paris
Chevannes,
YONNE
center-val-de-loire
89240
FR
Location
The property is 180 kilometres from Paris, which you can reach via the A6 motorway. It lies in north-west Burgundy, in the south of France’s Yonne department. The nearest city is Auxerre, which is around 20 kilometres north-east of the chateau. The estate is located next to an old winegrowing village that dates back to the 16th century. There, raised gardens once contained vineyards. The village has many stone houses. A 19th-century church stands in its centre. Lanes lined with fields and woods snake through the countryside and into the village, and also into other nearby villages with white stone dwellings. A few minutes away from the estate, a small town offers shops for everyday needs.
Description
From a picturesque country lane, a driveway climbs slowly up to the property. A former farmhouse and its court come into view first, as well as a pond and an old washhouse by the estate’s woods. Two entrances lead into the grounds. There is a main entrance – a double gate with spiked railings, framed between two stone pillars – and a second one: a simpler gate for farming vehicles. The chateau was built in 1792. It was destroyed, then rebuilt in 1828. It is part of a full series of buildings on a vast farming estate. On 12 September 1997, the property was listed as a historical monument for the chateau’s elevations, roof, farm buildings, outhouses, orangery, dovecote, two garden constructions, garden, terraces and railings. Almost all the elevations are made of stone from Aubigny quarry, which was excavated for around a hundred years and used to build the famous Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, as well as Paris city hall and the elite CNAM engineering school. Most of the roofs have two or four slopes, with slate tiles or flat traditional tiles. The grounds are made up of several spaces. The farming section has a vast court surrounded by buildings where grains would be stored, as well as a stable and a large agricultural building where cars can be parked. Beyond this part, there is an authentic stone barn, then the liveable section with the chateau, its court, a guesthouse, an orangery and, lastly, a dovecote, plus a stone shelter. Behind the chateau there is a French formal garden with a terrace. Steps and a stone wall surround a lawn encircled by box shrubs. Two small garden constructions stand in line with the chateau, which is surrounded by wrought-iron railings. A forest extends around the site.
The chateau
The chateau has a basement, a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor. Stringcourses mark the different levels and the roof is underlined with a cornice of dentils. Its front and rear elevations are built of white ashlar and respectively face south-west and north-east. They are punctuated with many evenly spaced rectangular windows and glazed doors with wooden louvred shutters. Both the front and rear elevations have a large triangular pediment with a bull’s-eye window in the middle, marking the elevation’s symmetry. In each of these elevations, there is a first-floor balcony with a wrought-iron balustrade and a view of the grounds. Many basement windows, with white wooden covers, bring natural light into the basement. The chateau is crowned with a hipped slate roof with several chimney stacks of stone and brick.
The ground floor
A glazed double door forms the entrance. It leads into a glazed hallway bathed in natural light. This hall connects to a vast room with stone tiles and a fireplace with an insert. Beside it there is spacious hallway that takes you straight to the garden and to a fitted kitchen with wooden cupboards. Next, a corridor connects to an office with chevron parquet and a marble fireplace. Beyond it there are two bedrooms with old wallpaper. The windows are all tall and single-glazed, brining in an abundance of natural light. The same corridor also connects to a lavatory and a renovated bathroom, which leads straight to a third bedroom. This bedroom faces north-east and has a floor of broad oak strips. Dado panelling adorns the walls and, above, there is a ceiling rose. A door leads straight to a first lounge, which is linked via another hallway to two vast reception rooms, each of which has black and white floor tiling, a central ceiling rose, a marble fireplace and old wallpaper depicting different hunting scenes. One of these reception rooms faces south-west, looking out at the garden. The other one faces north-east. Lastly, a wooden double door with glazing leads to a stone spiral staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade that is adorned with a glass sphere with blue edging.
The first floor
From the landing, a triple oak door leads into a broad corridor with wood strip flooring, pale dado panelling and two large windows – one facing the garden, the other facing the main court. This corridor take you to a vast dual-aspect reception room. You enter it via a double door, brought out by the same motif as that of the dado panelling. In this spacious reception room, there are two large marble fireplaces – one at each end of the room – and chevron parquet in excellent condition. A similar double door leads to a broad hallway that connects to two bedrooms with open-hearth marble fireplaces and parquet like that of the vast reception room. The first corridor also leads to a former library with glazed wooden bookcases fitted across two walls. They make this space look like an old apothecary’s store. Beyond it there are four bedrooms with wood strip flooring, a marble fireplace and views of the garden or inner court.
The second floor
The second floor has six bedrooms. A long dual-aspect corridor filled with natural light connects to them. Some of these bedrooms have marble fireplaces. Authentic oak strip flooring extends across all of them. Their ceilings are lower in height than below, yet they are comfortably sized.
The first outbuilding
A house stands perpendicular to the chateau. It has a ground floor and a first floor. Wisteria grows up its facade, which is punctuated with large windows and a two wooden doors painted in a tone of blue that is typical of the local region. Each door stands beneath a fanlight. Chimney stacks rise up from the house’s gable roof of flat Burgundy tiles.
The ground floor
A first door leads into a large room with a former bread oven and a stone sink. Oak beams runs across the ceiling and there is a floor of stone slabs. The ground floor has three rooms, which need to be fully restored. In the first room, a staircase leads up to a wooden double door that takes you into a loft space with an 87m² floor area.
The basement
A second door leads to a stone staircase that takes you down to vaulted stone cellars that offer a total floor area of 600m². These cellars have earthen floors and they extend under the chateau and beneath several annexes too. Down here, there is a well with water, some bottles and barrels, a heating oil tank, an air-to-water heat pump and an oil tank.
The second outbuilding
There is a second outbuilding made of ashlar. It has a ground floor and a first floor and includes a garage for two cars. The building is closed with a wooden double door. Inside, there are two rooms to be fully renovated. They offer floor areas of 29m² and 8m² respectively. A loft extends above these rooms. The shutters and window and door frames are painted blue. The entrance door stands beneath a fanlight.
The orangery: the first section
The long orangery faces south and looks out at the French formal garden. Its facade is punctuated with small-paned windows and glazed double doors, which bring in an abundance of natural light and brighten up its white stones. The first section has been turned into a dwelling. One room serves as a lounge. It has a fireplace with an insert, a floor of Burgundy stone slabs and a ceiling of exposed beams. It offers a 14m² floor area. A wooden staircase leads straight up to a loft, where there is a bedroom with a 26m² floor area. Near the lounge, there is a fitted kitchen with several storage spaces. It has a 10m² floor area. Beyond it, a corridor connects to a lavatory, a shower room and two bedrooms, each of which has over 10m² of floor area. The whole dwelling has been fully renovated and given modern touches of comfort. The windows are double-glazed.
The orangery: the second section
In the orangery’s second section there is a vast room with a 90m² floor area that was originally used to house the garden’s orange trees. It has a floor of stone slabs and a high ceiling. Beside it there is a second room, which has a 65m² floor area of Burgundy stone slabs.
The dovecote
The dovecote is also listed as a historical monument. It is crowned with an octagonal roof of flat Burgundy tiles. The structure houses 1,300 pigeonholes in good condition. This bears witness to the prestige of the estate’s first lords. A vaulted stone cellar extends beneath the building.
The former stable and other farm buildings
A vast court brings together several farm buildings, located outside the liveable part. One of them, made of stone, punctuated with blue double doors and crowned with a gable roof, houses a former stable with a 100m² floor area, as well as a saddle room with a 45m² floor area. A 30-metre-long cow shed adjoins it. This cowshed stands beside a small stone dwelling that houses a former one-tonne weighing machine designed for weighing animals. Opposite the latter, there is a long building with a 144m² barn that has a monumental oak roof frame. With its large sliding doors, it could be turned into a theatre. Lastly, behind the court, there is a 170m² stone barn that could house vehicles or serve as a venue for receptions. It leads out into a meadow surrounded by woods, so it offers a magnificent view.
The stable
In the first section of the grounds, there is a long stone building with a gable roof and a facade punctuated with blue wooden window frames. Inside it, there is a former stable, which has long been unused. It offers a 100m² floor area.
The garden
At the back of the chateau, at a lower level, there is a terraced French formal garden with steps and low stone walls. Today it is neglected and overgrown, though it is still marked by the geometrical forms that once gave it structure. It is mainly made up of straight box hedges, today damaged by box tree moths. Two tiny constructions, listed as historical monuments, stand in line with the chateau. One of them houses a well, which is still equipped with an old pump.
Our opinion
This splendid property is a hidden gem with a prestigious past. It lies at the end of a country lane where time stands still. The noble edifice is waiting for you to bring back its past splendour and restore the harmonious series of buildings and spaces around it, including a French formal garden that needs to be brought back to life. Postcards and old photographs that reveal the chateau of yesteryear would be precious aids for such a restoration project. The many buildings enjoy absolute calm and privacy in their lush, bucolic backdrop. The property is also listed as a historical monument, so renovation expenses on the protected parts are entirely tax deductible from property income or overall income.
Reference 581043
| Land registry surface area | 10 ha 7 a 47 ca |
| Main building surface area | 600 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 15 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 500 m2 |
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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.
