a 16th and 18th-century chateau, listed as a historical monument, surrounded by moats on 12.5-hectare grounds
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Location
The property is located on the outskirts of Troyes.
Recognised as a “City of Art and History”, the historical capital of Champagne has preserved exceptional architecture from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with one of the largest concentrations of 16th-century timbered-framed homes.
Description
The property is discreetly located at the end of a residential neighbourhood.
The group of buildings are situated around a main courtyard surrounded by moats with water, while the grounds extend over three of its sides with a tennis court. Remarkably designed, and from which six shady pathways spread out in a star-shaped pattern in all directions, are two outside dance floors, one of which is bathed in light, while the other, under a verdant canopy, is a little more shaded.
From the street, a large pavilion opens onto the main courtyard via an entrance gate, which is preceded by a footbridge spanning the moats. To the right of the gate, there is the guardhouse building and, to the left, the outbuildings, supported by buttresses and bordered by a small tower.
On the other side of the courtyard is the main Renaissance-era building, connected by an intermediary building to a half-timbered dwelling.
At a right angle, a long classical wing from the 18th century is extended at the other end by two older bays and flanked at the rear by a small square corner tower with arrow slits.
On the other side of the terreplein, past the polygonal dovecote, which abuts a swimming pool, the outbuildings that surrounded the courtyard have been entirely restored and converted for residential use with a swimming pool. Their back façades face a large canal that extends to the end of the grounds.
The Gatehouse and Guardhouse
With a stone façade, the ground floor level has dressed bossage stone alternating between bare and rustic coursing. Above this, its strongly sloping roof, covered in slate, sits on a series of ogee-shaped consoles, recalling the presence of a machicolation defence system. The lateral door still conserves the high groove where the arm of its drawbridge would rest, while on the other side of the passageway, is a small guardroom.
This edifice abuts the two-storey “guardhouse”, covered in flat tiles, which contains a series of rooms to restore, distributed around a spiral staircase.
The Renaissance Dwelling
With two storeys, one of which is built into the slate roof space, it has large arched double dormer windows crowned with the crescent of Diane de Poitiers, the bust of whom is framed in an oculus bordered by two cornucopias overlooking the front door.
The main building, unfinished, is followed by a ground floor fronted with a gallery, which is supported by a series of semi-underground rooms, covered with beautiful, segmental arched vaults made out of small stone masonry and resting on brick arches.
This building includes a foyer, lavatory and a small sitting room covered in remarkable stone tiles as well as a vast living room with mitred herringbone hardwood floors and an 18th-century marble fireplace. Most likely under the First Empire, and just like the small sitting room that precedes it, stucco décor was added to this room, which depicts processional scenes from Antiquity. The kitchen, under a double-height ceiling and topped with a mezzanine, was created where the chapel was once located. An oak staircase leads to the first floor and two bedrooms, one of which has an elegant Renaissance stone fireplace and wide hardwood floors. A bathroom and a shower room complete this level.
The edifice is connected to a second dwelling, most likely also from the Renaissance, whose twin gable ends, largely overhanging, recalling the half-timbered houses that the historic section of Troyes is so well known for.
This building includes a vast dual-aspect entrance hall that opens onto a set of steps that leads towards the grounds, a large living room with wood panelling and a marble fireplace, a kitchen, utility room and a dining room. On the first floor, there are three bedrooms and a bathroom.
The 18th-Century Dwelling
Situated at a right angle, is a large building constructed at the beginning of the 18th century with a slate roof, the large arches of which were originally used as former outhouses.
Its front door is located in the middle of the façade, framed with pilasters and topped with a triangular pediment decorated with a coat of arms that was partially destroyed during the Revolution.
On the ground floor, there is a stone-tiled entrance hall, a dining room, office, living room and kitchen.
The stone staircase with a wrought-iron handrail, starts in the entrance hall and leads to the first floor, which includes two bedrooms, an office, bathroom and shower room.
This wing has beautiful 18th-century woodwork and marble fireplaces throughout.
The Outbuildings
Partially restored as more contemporary homes, they are comprised of a reception room with a large stone fireplace as well as a two-storey dwelling including a kitchen, dining room and large living room with a stone fireplace on the ground floor and five bedrooms, a wardrobe, bathroom and game room.
The two-storey outbuilding, which connects to the gatehouse at a right angle, has not been restored.
Our opinion
Although its warlike austerity has gradually diminished over time, this property’s composite architecture still bears these vestiges. Once through the gatehouse, it is truly amazing to see how this property's different coexisting eras have merged over the years to become one.
With more than 1,500 m2 of living space spread out over several buildings, this property, like a verdant oasis in an urban setting, still radiates today from the great minds that once frequented this place, and could house several families, or ambitious tourism and event-based projects.
3 500 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 911516
Land registry surface area | 12 ha 69 a 49 ca |
Main building surface area | 1510 m2 |
Number of bedrooms | 15 |
Outbuilding surface area | 500 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.