on 6.3 hectares of farmlandi rrigated by a spring, in Brignoles

Location
Just 1.5 km from the centre of Brignoles, in the midst of a vast natural setting, spanning some 20 hectares, this chateau and its parklands are within easy reach by road as the slip roads for the A8 motorway, linking Nice to Aix-en-Provence before continuing towards Lyon and Paris, are nearby. Brignoles is less than an hour from the Mediterranean beaches. Toulon and Aix-en-Provence TGV train stations are a 45-minute drive away and Marseille international airport can be reached in an hour. Although the twenty or so hectares surrounding the chateau and its parklands are classified as farmland, no activities that might generate nuisances are practiced. They do, however, provide this property with a countrified setting and an unobstructed view over the surrounding hills.
Description
The chateau
Constructed in the second half of the 18th century, the original, rectangular, 3-storey chateau, with walls almost 80 cm thick, had a compact appearance. In 1880, a time when it was taken over by the family of the current owner, two wings leading to two small towers were added, together with a vast extension which spanned the full new width on the north side of the house. All the roofs, whether on the 18th century building, the extension or the two towers, are hipped. More recently, the residents have set aside the old section and the east wing for their own personal use and divided the west wing and the extension on the north side into three large flats. Two-thirds of the attic space has also been converted.
The ceilings vary in height between 3 and 3.3 m in the main rooms on the first and second levels, whilst they are limited to a height of approx. 2 m under the exposed beams in the converted attic.
The layout of the load-bearing walls is such that, if so desired, new owners could create three reception rooms, each spanning more than 80 m², on the ground and first floors by taking down intermediate partition walls.
The ground floor
An entrance door on the south side provides access to the owners’ flat. The ground floor of the latter comprises two reception rooms protruding on the south side, a dining room, a kitchen and its storeroom in the east wing, a through north-south corridor as well as the main stairway. A passageway under the stairway leads to a vaulted cellar, spanning approx. 12 m². The dining room also gives access to a utility room, housing the boiler which heats the entire chateau, as well as to a toilet. Period paintings adorn the ceilings in the reception rooms. The latter as well as the corridor have black and white floor tiles laid in a chessboard pattern, whilst the dining room and the kitchen have terracotta floor tiles. A brick and marble fireplace enhances one of the reception rooms and most of the doors and windows are arched. The south facade also gives access to the entrance hall of the second apartment which is followed by a vast lounge and a large bedroom on the north side, a small kitchen, with cement floor tiles, a shower room, with a toilet, and a contemporary spiral stairway. The lounge and the bedroom occupy the 80-m² space that used to be the chateau's ballroom. Lastly, on the north-east side, large, double, wooden doors open from the outside into several storage rooms which could be united to form an area spanning approx. 50 m², for example for the creation of a large collective kitchen. A wooden stairway, also on this side, goes up to the entrance doors to the last two apartments.
The first floor
The main stairway in the owners’ flat, with its terracotta tiles steps and wooden nosing, goes up to a landing providing access to three bedrooms. One of them continues into the east wing which could also be used as a bedroom and gives access to a shower room, laid out in a tower. Terracotta floor tiles are laid throughout this level and two of the bedrooms are adorned with large painted wallpaper. The biggest bedroom, on the south side, has a large bathroom and a toilet. Old frescoes on the landing itself have been partially renovated. The spiral stairway, in the second apartment, goes up to a vast landing providing access to a large bedroom, on the north side, a small bedroom on the south side laid out in what was once the chapel, as is shown by the small stained-glass feature embellishing the window, and a shower room. With regard to the two other apartments, laid out over the first and attic floors, the first apartment opens into a vast, 43 m² lounge, with a kitchen area, extended by a bedroom, communicating with a bathroom, and toilet. A stairway leads to the upper floor. The second apartment spans smaller surface areas, including a 36 m² lounge-kitchen, a small bedroom and a toilet. Similarly, an interior stairway communicates with the converted attic space.
The attic
The owners’ apartment extends under the rafters of the original building with a landing and three bedrooms, with old terracotta floor tiles, as well as a bathroom, a toilet and a long, 28 m² room on an intermediate level above the west wing of the chateau. The beams are exposed, painted or varnished and the rooms are illuminated via low windows or skylights. The first apartment to the north exteding into the attic has two bedrooms on this level, one of which is very big, with a low beam running through it, as well as a bathroom, a shower room and a toilet. Lastly, the second apartment, similarly, has three bedrooms, a dressing room and a bathroom, with a toilet. Two of the bedrooms as well as the dressing room could be united to form one 33 m² bedroom.
The parklands and the outbuildings
The parklands surrounding this chateau have numerous areas shaded by various species of tall trees. The spring that supplies the property makes it possible to enjoy the coolness of a fountain and a network of open gutters, leading to the large, water reservoir, containing approximately 900 m³, populated by numerous fish, two circular ponds and miscellaneous ponds in the orangery. The latter takes the form of a walled area spanning approx. 2,500 m², which is also wooded and includes a long greenhouse, spanning approx. 90 m² and partially converted into an apartment, ending on the west side with a small pavilion, topped with a roof shaped like a Chinese hat. In addition to the latter and a carport for four cars on the north side of the property, two lean-tos adjoin the chateau, one of which houses the oil tank for the central heating. To the south of the pond, the grounds extends into a grassy area forming a 30 metre square that overlooks the former market gardening area of the property, located slightly below. A few trees remain, from the time when it was converted into a tree nursery. All types of agriculture are possible here, with water from the spring serving the area via an overflow system from the pond, including livestock activities.
Our opinion
The quality of the setting reinforces a feeling of being in the midst of the countryside, an impression that is enhanced by the magnificence of the tall trees in the parklands and the coolness of the various watering places. The orangery and its greenhouse add to the charm of the property and can also be used for reception functions, on the condition that they do not generate too much noise, without encroaching on the parklands. The current layout of the chateau ensures the privacy of each flat. Bringing the decoration up to modern tastes is necessary, or even reopening doorways which could also make it possible to create vast reception or living areas and enjoy a soberly elegant, spacious property full of character, something which is quite rare in this region. Lastly, the agricultural area to the south of the property, while helping to preserve the privacy of the chateau, lends itself to all kinds of plantation and livestock activities
1 990 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 161540
Land registry surface area | 6 ha 31 a 23 ca |
Main building surface area | 751 m2 |
Number of bedrooms | 16 |
Outbuilding surface area | 200 m2 |
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.