The chateau de la Motte or “chateau of the Mound” owes its name to the presence of an ancient medieval mound, today gone, the location of which was situated near the property’s northern entrance. Built over 15th-century vestiges, which are still visible today, the current chateau was mainly constructed in the 17th century, while the symbolist poet Remy de Gourmont, a precursor to the Nouveau roman, was born within the chateau’s very walls a century later.
Three minutes from the nearby town, a tree-lined avenue of more than 400 metres leads to the property’s enclosure wall, accessible via a stately wrought-iron gate, flanked by stone pillars topped with capitals, as well as an adjacent pedestrian door.
Opposite, a caretaker’s cottage watches over the entrance to the property, which is then followed by the former main courtyard in front of the chateau, while a 19th-century greenhouse was built in a corner formed by the chateau, a gallery and an artist’s studio. In addition, a few outbuildings surround the former courtyard and, to the north, the grounds also include a restored chapel and an agricultural storage building. Lastly, woods, a pond and a former garden surrounded by water-filled moats extend to the west of the property.

The Chateau

Looking out towards its garden, the three-storey chateau faces south and is topped with an iridescent blue slate hipped roof, which is cadenced by four chimneys. With hard masonry exteriors, made out of dressed and pointed rubble stone, the chateau’s aligned rectilinear windows and doors are surrounded by ashlar limestone and safeguarded by wooden louvred shutters as well as wrought-iron, openwork, sculpted guardrails.

The ground floor
Accessible from the patio, the chateau’s wooden front double doors topped with a glazed fanlight open onto an immense entrance hall. Opposite, a large floating, winding marble staircase is protected by a wrought-iron bannister and provides access to the first floor, while a wardrobe and lavatory are located beneath it. With cement floor tiles painted in the Art Nouveau style, the sunny entrance hall leads to, on one side, the chateau’s drawing room with a built-in fireplace as well as dual-aspect tall windows, which diffuse a soft light onto the room’s mitred herringbone hardwood floors, while its ceiling and wood panelling are painted with friezes or stencilled patterns and adorned with stucco cornices and décor. As for the other side of the entrance hall, that is where the chateau’s “blue dining room” is located, which, like the drawing room, is crowned by a ceiling decorated with medallions depicting painted cherubs. From here, a door opens onto the kitchen, illuminated by many windows and a glazed wooden door, which provides access to the patio, while, at the base of a built-in fireplace, the floor is decorated with Art Nouveau-style tiles and an adjacent storeroom provides access to the upper floors via a wooden staircase. Lastly, extending on from the kitchen, a door opens onto a utility room, a lavatory and provides access to a long gallery, which leads to the artist’s studio.
The first floor
The wide staircase leads to a sunny landing with a tile floor and safeguarded by a delicately crafted wrought-iron guardrail, while friezes decorate the walls and ceiling. This space provides access, on one side, to the “blue bedroom” and its built-in fireplace, the two windows of which bathe the room’s mitred herringbone hardwood floors with light. In addition, a door opens onto a wardrobe and a bathroom, the latter of which abuts the “pink bedroom” with its built-in fireplace in Enjugerais marble and hardwood floors. Continuing on from here, the “green bedroom” also has hardwood floors and communicates with another landing and its wooden staircase towards the second floor. Here, the landing provides access, on one side, to a bedroom with original terracotta floor tiles, a shower room and a bathroom decorated in the Art Nouveau style, while, on the other side, the landing leads to a bedroom with hardwood floors and an alcove.
The second floor
The second-floor landing has hardwood floors, as does the rest of this level, and provides access to two bedrooms, a shower room and study. In addition, double doors open onto another large study and an immense library with exposed wooden rafters and lime-pointed dressed rubble stone walls, while the whole room is flooded in abundant sunlight thanks to its many windows.