A 17th-century mansion rearranged in the 18th and 19th centuries,
with outbuildings on 18 hectares of land, in southwest France, between Bordeaux and Toulouse, near Agen
with outbuildings on 18 hectares of land, in southwest France, between Bordeaux and Toulouse, near Agen
Agen,
LOT-ET-GARONNE
aquitaine
47000
FR
Location
This property is 15 km from the former royal town of Nérac, which is popular with tourists, boasts all the necessary everyday amenities, holds several events and festivals throughout the year and has a renowned weekly market, as well as a theatre, cinema, many shops and restaurants. The former episcopal town of Condom is less than 25 minutes away by road. The station in Agen, from which high-speed TGV trains can reach Paris in 3 hours 15 minutes, is 22 km away.
Description
A small country road winding through fields and copses to the top of a hill leads to the estate. A Calvary, opposite a small Romanesque church that now belongs to the municipality, marks the entrance to the property in the heart of 18-hectare grounds. This two-storey mansion, with an attic beneath the hipped roofs made of half-round tiles and dotted with tall chimneys, was built over several centuries in an almost square shape around a courtyard with three arched gates. Its oldest parts date back to the 17th century. It stands out from the rest of the buildings thanks to its ashlar construction, stone cornice and many arched openings. There is an adjoining, smaller, two-storey wing with a gabled roof. The outbuildings, built in the 19th century with rubble stone pointed with lime rendering and mostly with gabled roofs, have been restored and include a large number of rooms that have retained their initial appearance, such as a sheep barn, wine cellar, ripening room, workshop, garage and woodshed. The lintels are made of ashlar, as are the quoins, paying witness to the care lavished upon the buildings’ construction. The estate keeper’s house has been fully restored.
The mansion
This two-storey 17th-century edifice with an attic still awaiting conversion, which was once a watchtower, as shown by the presence of a turret with an arrow slit on the northern corner, stands at the southwest corner of the courtyard, boasting far-reaching views over the valleys and wooded plains. Successive periods have left their mark on the façades, particularly the 18th century, when many arched openings were created, arranged in six regular and symmetrical vertical rows either side of the main entrance door. Several Second Empire style decorative elements remain inside the building, such as solid wooden flooring, fireplaces, moulding and wooden panelling. It has a total surface of 440 m² and is currently made up of reception rooms and seven bedrooms in the central section, as well as five extra bedrooms in the adjoining wing.
The ground floor
This level can be reached through an entrance into the staircase wing from the courtyard. It is topped by a terminal and framed by two finely carved pilasters, though the door height is rather low. On the side overlooking the grounds, in the centre of the 18th-century façade, there is another entrance through a large, double-leaf glazed door that opens into a hall with crazy paving style stone slab flooring. The hall leads into reception rooms into which light streams through the large, arched windows. The dining room and lounge boast marble fireplaces topped with trumeau mirrors, finely crafted mouldings and burnished, warm-toned wood stripped flooring. Adjoining them to one side is another room equipped for use as an office. The configuration of the nearby bathroom allows the possibility of transforming it into a bedroom. The fitted kitchen boasts a rustic appearance, enhanced by timber framing. It leads into a second dining room, with a monumental fireplace, as well as into a larder. A gas boiler provides heating for the residence and is backed up by the recent installation of reversible air conditioning units.
The upstairs
At the top of the broad staircase adorned with terracotta tiled treads, underlined by burnished wood bullnoses, a long corridor, bathed in light through arched, lattice framed French windows, leads to five bedrooms. On the southern side, two extra bedrooms and an office, stamped with the elegant features typical of grand residences, can be found one after another. The wide wood stripped flooring, the fireplaces with grey marble mantelpieces and the quaint decoration of these rooms immerse visitors in a gentle ambiance of bygone days. Overlooking the courtyard, there are four main bedrooms, three of which have undergone thorough renovation, made up of elegant decorative features, such as trumeau mirrors and moulding. The ceiling height of 3.5 metres enhances the noble feel of these bedrooms, two of which have en suite bathrooms and lavatories.
The ‘guest’s’ wing
This part of the edifice, adjoining to and connected with the mansion through a door in the dining room, was renovated in the 1960s as an independent, two-storey dwelling. An insurance declaration by the current occupants has made it possible to carry out restoration work that has just been completed. As a result, the roof is brand new, as are most of the ceilings in this wing.
The ground floor
A long corridor leads to a kitchen on the northern side and a lounge with four windows overlooking the grounds to the south. The black and white chessboard style tiled floor hails back to the period in which these rooms were decorated. From the courtyard, a separate entrance opens into a hall, meaning this part of the edifice can be used independently. Reversible air conditioning units are installed in all the rooms.
The first floor
From the entrance, a small, quarter-turn, burnished wooden staircase leads upstairs. On this level, there are 5 bedrooms of more modest size than in the mansion, which can be reached via a long corridor. In addition to the light streaming through the small dormer windows on the southern façade, two of them also have skylights. One of the bedrooms has an en suite bathroom with a shower and bath, while the other bedrooms share a larger family bathroom. A loft rounds off this level.
The estate keeper’s house
This two-storey, 150-m² house was entirely restored in 2013. Located in the northeastern corner of the courtyard, it is entirely independent and is made up of a living room, fitted kitchen, three bedrooms, a bathroom and a lavatory. A reversible air conditioning unit and a wood burning stove provide the heating. Thanks to modern, aluminium full-length windows, the rooms are bathed in light. Some of the walls have been re-pointed to retain the dwelling’s authenticity. A large garage/workshop can be reached from the house and a septic tank sewage system has been installed.
The ground floor
The glazed entrance door opens into a comfortable lounge with a cathedral ceiling boasting remarkable exposed beams. There is also a separate, functionally designed kitchen with a larder. The living room is linked to a vast veranda that boasts bucolic views of the grounds. A hallway leads to a bedroom with wardrobe space and an en suite shower room, laundry room and a lavatory. On this level, a smart aesthetic choice has been made for the flooring, which is made up of large slabs with a pattern inspired by Versailles wood stripped flooring, reinforcing the successful combination of old and new.
The first floor
This level possesses wood-stripped flooring as well as sloped ceilings with skylights and is made up of two bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes, a shower room with walk-in shower and a lavatory.
The outbuildings
The outbuildings are located around the courtyard and boast a habitable area of approximately 1,200 m².
The western wing adjoining the mansion is the oldest part. The ground floor, whose period floor made of terracotta tiles has been preserved, contains a variety of utility areas: a scullery with a fireplace, a larder and a former sheep barn. The upper level has two rooms and a loft.
The eastern wing, which once housed the stables, has a stone-paved porch gate at its centre and forms an awning leading to the workshops.
These two wings both have very recently entirely renovated roofs. The northern wing, which forms an L shape jutting into the courtyard at a right angle to the sheep barn, houses a wine cellar on the ground floor and a 210-m² wheat barn on the upper level. The roof is in need of servicing, despite having been recently overhauled.
The grounds
The land, which is naturally irrigated by a well and a spring, is spread around the property as well as to the south and is made up of approximately 10 hectares of wooded plains and almost 9 hectares of meadows and forest. An additional one hundred hectares of arable farmland may also be acquired. The management of this land is entrusted to the SAFER agricultural agency by the current occupier, via a renewable agreement that can be terminated at the end of each year.
Our opinion
The indisputable assets of this property are a large dwelling in most of which all the structural work has already been carried out, excellent potential, undeniable character and a unique history. The mansion can be easily reached and is just waiting for someone to take it on and restore it to its former glory, with the privacy of its inner courtyard and open lush, green grounds. It is a perfect combination between elegance and countryside charm. It has everything required to meet the new occupants’ aspirations, be they event, hotel or residential based projects, even ones which break with tradition. The acquisition of a further 100 hectares or so of unoccupied, irrigated land represents not inconsiderable potential.
1 275 000 €
Negotiation fees included
1 202 830 € Fees excluded
6%
TTC at the expense of the purchaser
Reference 753258
| Land registry surface area | 18 ha 83 a |
| Main building surface area | 663 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 15 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 1350 m2 |
| including refurbished area | 150 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.
