A chateau that was fully renovated in 1960 with large outhouses and over 28 hectares
of bucolic grounds with a river, nestled between the cities of Périgueux and Limoges
of bucolic grounds with a river, nestled between the cities of Périgueux and Limoges
Thiviers,
DORDOGNE
aquitaine
24800
FR
Location
The charming town of Thiviers lies in the north of France’s Dordogne department, in the country’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is perched upon a valley. Thiviers is a vibrant medieval town that offers shops and amenities. It is known as the south gateway to France’s beautiful Périgord-Limousin regional nature park. The village is a former fortified settlement on the route from Limoges to Périgueux and a stop on the Camino de Santiago pilgrims’ way. The surrounding countryside is made up of many deep, lush, wooded valleys where deer live. Schist stone buildings remind you that the area is geologically close to the Limousin region. From Thiviers train station, you can get to Paris via Limoges and to Bordeaux via Périgueux. There are some enchanting towns near the property too, including Excideuil, Hautefort, Jumilhac-le-Grand, Saint-Jean-de-Côle and Brantôme, which is nicknamed ‘the Venice of Périgord’. The spectacular Auvézère gorges are also close.
Description
The 28-hectare property stretches lengthways in the hollow of a narrow, isolated valley. Two riverbanks extend across several hundred metres beside a river flanked with meadows and forests. To reach the riverside woods, you can cross a wooden bridge that the current owners built. The property’s four buildings stand in a walled garden. These enclosing walls run alongside a calm road and mark a boundary with the meadow beyond. Stone pillars frame a large gate that leads into a vast drive paved in an opus incertum pattern. The chateau towers straight ahead. Four corner bartizans give the edifice a slender, graceful style. The imposing edifice made of local stone is a harmonious structure made up of several sections, each with their own steep hipped roof of flat tiles. These sections form a U shape and are linked together with a central covered gallery. The elevations are dotted with different windows set in ashlar surrounds, revealing the building's different phases of construction. All the windows are fitted with indoor wooden shutters. The corner bartizans, which are either round with a cone roof or square with a pyramidal roof, are crowned with finials. Wall dormers with a hipped roof or large gable end punctuate the top of the elevations. Following a fire, the chateau was entirely restored in 1960. This work restored the roofs, the window surrounds, the pointing, the terrace paving, and the windows with their small panes, single glazing and wooden frames. The paved space extends up to three garages, a barn, a caretaker’s house, a secondary gate and a huge cowshed that was built in the 1960s. The garden is made up of lawns with flowering plants, centred upon an ornamental pond. This space also includes a small shelter with a roof of flat tiles. On either side of the wall that separates the garden from the meadow, a few stone steps take you across this walled boundary.
The chateau
The ground floor
A studded wooden door on the west side leads into a vaulted entrance hall with a floor of large stone slabs. An imposing stone-and-brick fireplace with a straight chimney breast heats up this room. A corridor running alongside a stone staircase with two quarter-turns takes you to the reception rooms: a dining room that connects to a vast, bright lounge that has a floor of pale tiling patterned with small black square inserts, a French-style beamed ceiling painted yellow and a monumental stone fireplace. Next, there is a television lounge with a floor of patterned cement tiles and a vaulted room with a fireplace and a separate entrance door. A hall with red floral-patterned wallpaper leads to the northern dwelling, which used to be a single, spacious vaulted room with a fireplace. Partition walls, which could be removed, now divide it into a kitchen, a back entrance hall, a scullery and a utility room. A boiler room and a storeroom have been made beneath a staircase that leads up to the floor where domestic staff used to live.
The first floor
This floor is made up of bedrooms and bathrooms. It is spread out over two separate spaces, each of which can be reached via its own separate flight of stairs. Wood strip flooring extends across all the rooms. Above the vaulted kitchen, there are three bedrooms and a bathroom that they share. These rooms are arranged around a central landing. There is a lavatory at an intermediate level. Via a landing then more steps, the main staircase leads to a long L-shaped hallway that connects to a range of rooms in the highest dwelling. This section is made up of four bedrooms, as well as three shower rooms and a bathroom, all of which have private lavatories.
The second floor
The landing of the main staircase connects to a bathroom, an empty room that could become a lavatory, a door leading to the loft, and a high-ceilinged room with a fireplace and an adjoining round bartizan.
The attic
The roof space could be converted. It forms the top floor of the dwelling with the large lounge and dining room. Inside the tallest roof, a staircase leads up to a mezzanine floor and a high-ceilinged room with exposed roof beams.
The grounds and outhouses
An anti-flood wall separates the garden from the meadow that surrounds it. It is an anti-flood wall because its concrete foundation is 2.5 metres deep. Its visible part made of stone also protects the garden’s flowers and shrubs from the surrounding wildlife.
The outbuilding
This building is made of schist stone and is crowned with a hipped roof of flat tiles. It houses a large barn, three separate garages and a caretaker’s house. Its roof frame dates back to the time of construction and its roof was remade following the storm of 1999.
The caretaker’s house
The caretaker’s house stands at one end of the barn and is crowned with the same roofing. It offers a floor area of around 65m², spread out over two levels linked together with a straight staircase. In its current state, it cannot be lived in. It has its own septic tank, but no heating system.
The cowshed
The cowshed is made of schist stone and concrete. It dates back to the 20th century when a large cattle-rearing activity began on the property. A sheep-breeding activity started here later too. The cowshed was designed in line with that period’s newest technology. It is huge and has wood-framed windows that fill the interior with natural light, a loft fitted with trapdoors for easily filling up the troughs, large side openings, a separate room, two lean-to sections, and an underground concrete rainwater tank beneath the terrace.
Our opinion
This enchanting chateau is surrounded by nature. Indeed, it is the only human footprint in a vast landscape of lush, unspoilt scenery. The edifice is graceful and elegant in shape. It is the only architectural form in this bucolic patchwork of forests and meadows in an isolated valley. It is remarkably close to woodland, wildlife and a river. The chateau’s large size and configuration as two separate dwellings offer a considerable hosting capacity with maximum comfort. The chateau was entirely restored following a fire in 1960. The significant size of its outhouses opens up possibilities for countless projects, whether in agriculture, horse-riding, industry, craftsmanship or events. The outhouses could also serve as a home to a collection of vintage cars.
Reference 813858
| Land registry surface area | 28 ha 60 a 93 ca |
| Main building surface area | 507 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 9 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 1046 m2 |
| including refurbished area | 64 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.
