A 16th-century dwelling with a storied history and its outbuildings
on 3,000-m² grounds, one hour from Paris near Chartres
on 3,000-m² grounds, one hour from Paris near Chartres
Chartres,
EURE-ET-LOIR
center-val-de-loire
28000
FR
Location
By car, the property is located one hour from Paris – Porte d’Orléans, 25 minutes from Chartres and 10 minutes from Voves whose train station provides direct service to Paris’s Austerlitz station in 1 hour and 5 minutes, while a variety of shops and services are only ten minutes away. Situated in an old village surrounded by countryside, the house is extremely ancient, demonstrated by the fortified farm on the other side of the road, which must have once belonged to this solid dwelling located in the Pays Dunois, the borders of which were drawn by the Franks during the Merovingian period.
A few kilometres away, is where Hugh Capet died in 996 and, incidentally, this house’s style evokes more the High Middle Ages than the uncertain, but more recent period to which it belongs: the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as perhaps the start of the 17th century, but no later.
Description
Around the bend of a small road that intersects with an old no-through road and facing the massive tower of a spectacular medieval fortified farm, a wrought-iron gate stands between ancient walls. Immediately to the left once past the gate, a wooden door leads to a garden, also enclosed by walls, and the annexe building. Opposite, is the main house, which could have once been a fortified manor house, dependent on the nearby seigniorial farm and in all likelihood surrounded by moats. In any case, its architectural features allude to the protective purpose it once played for its inhabitants.
According to the more or less defensive needs of their occupants, there was a wide variety in the types of fortified manor houses, which, like this one, were often built near a fortress with the appearance of a traditional village house.
Large dressed stones form thick walls, while the house’s windows are placed in an asymmetrical manner – one of the charming features of the late Middle Ages – and are framed by ashlar limestone surrounds like those found throughout the Loire Valley and elsewhere. In addition, there is a large barn to the right with an adjacent shed, while a rounded door in a wall covered with climbing plants leads to the field in the back and its apple trees.
According to the more or less defensive needs of their occupants, there was a wide variety in the types of fortified manor houses, which, like this one, were often built near a fortress with the appearance of a traditional village house.
Large dressed stones form thick walls, while the house’s windows are placed in an asymmetrical manner – one of the charming features of the late Middle Ages – and are framed by ashlar limestone surrounds like those found throughout the Loire Valley and elsewhere. In addition, there is a large barn to the right with an adjacent shed, while a rounded door in a wall covered with climbing plants leads to the field in the back and its apple trees.
The Dwelling
With a floor area of approximately 172 m², this house is composed of two side-by-side buildings – one of which is taller than the other – which look like two cubes being pulled towards the sky by their steep triangular roofs covered in small, antique tiles. The taller, and most likely older, building has a wooden front door, which is accessible via a couple of steps, as well as two casement windows on the ground floor and two more windows with stone surrounds placed in a seemingly random manner on the first floor. The building next door is accessible via two dutch doors on either side of a fanlight window, while the back façade includes four windows placed asymmetrically on the first floor, three of which have sculpted lintels: one is topped with a carved ogee arch, a feature from civil architecture often found in France from the end of the 14th through the 17th century, another displays a blank coat of arms, while still another has half-pilasters under a cyma reversa lintel, like that above the door. All these decorative elements are vestiges of the era in which the building was constructed.
The ground floor
The taller building’s front door opens onto the dual-aspect living room with approximately 50 m². Although now replaced by the bedrooms and a bathroom, when this house was constructed, the living spaces were located upstairs, and this room was once probably used as a guardroom. Now the living room, this space exudes a charming rusticity with its large and impressive stone fireplace flanked by two pilasters with simple square capitals that has been fitted with a wood stove, original floor tiles in a mosaic of greyish-brown hues representing the different eras that this house has traversed, exposed stone walls that are sometimes covered in plaster or wallpaper as well as a recent wooden staircase, in perfect condition, which leads upstairs.
On the other side of the living room and to the left, a door leads to the 32-m² kitchen, which communicates with a lavatory and laundry room, while a second wooden staircase provides upstairs access.
Lastly, the well-maintained, barrel-vaulted wine cellar of approximately 15 m² with electricity is accessible via a solid wood trapdoor in the terracotta-tile floor. In addition, all of the dwelling’s windows are double-glazed.
The first floor
From the kitchen, the staircase gives onto the hallway, a bedroom and a bathroom. At the end of the hallway, a 35-m² landing connected to the smaller landing from the other staircase, provides access to two other bedrooms and, via a recent miller’s ladder, the convertible attic space with approximately 50 square metres.
The Annexe Building
With its enclosed, tree-filled garden, the annexe is accessible via a second gate, which is located directly to the left, once past the main gate to the property. Built out of stone and with a wooden mezzanine, it has a floor area of 144 m² and has received the requisite permits to be converted into housing. Perfectly sound, it has an original, small tile and fibre cement roof, while its floor is covered by a screed.
The Outbuildings
Currently used as a garage and a warehouse, a barn, to the right of the dwelling and towards the back of the garden, has a floor area of 150 m² and a floor-to-ceiling height of about ten metres. In good condition, the roof is covered in vintage tiles, while the building itself is accessible via a large wooden barn door.
To the left, a shed, with a roof covered in small antique tiles, houses the wood-pellet furnace and has a floor area of approximately 16 m².
The Gardens
This property has four separate, enclosed gardens, all linked to one another. The first garden is directly accessible from the main entrance, while the second one is located behind another gate to the left of the first one. Separated by an ancient wall, a wooden door and an opening in the wall make it possible to pass from one to the next. Here, large trees, like a plum and a pear as well as red and blackcurrant bushes flourish, in addition to the chickens in their coop, over the approximately 1,400 m². Further on, behind the dwelling’s kitchen, an enclosed garden of almost 40 m² forms a sort of verdant courtyard sheltered from view. Not only did this space once have a protective function, but also indicated a certain social status specific to fortified manor houses: according to courtly literature, behind the ramparts formed by the buildings and the room in which the guards stood vigil, sat their lovers. This is the same kind of small, enclosed medieval garden, which can be found in so many illuminated manuscripts and once symbolised courtly love, purity of the soul and the paradise of the just. Lastly, behind the barn, a piece of land facing surrounding fields and enclosed by hedges, contains an apple orchard of approximately 1,500 m².
Our opinion
Although it may seem imposing due to its simplicity, there is absolutely nothing austere about this home, which is anything but ordinary, quite the contrary. Perfectly inhabitable after some necessary upgrades were carried out in the bedrooms and shower rooms, the kitchen has retained the charm of a clean domestic space, like something straight out of a Proust novel. For those who wish, it could be restored and refurbished in keeping with the dwelling’s overall rustic charm, especially since the windows already provide plenty of light for this space.
The tall and deep fireplace with its wood stove, the wooden doors as well as the metalwork wheat patterns above the doors create a medieval and Romanesque ambiance throughout the dwelling, all the while pleasantly bathed in daylight, which is often not the case in other constructions from these long-ago eras.
The living room’s floor tiles, a kaleidoscope of the times, tastes and milestones traversed over the centuries, in incredible matching shades, deserve to be conserved. In addition, the fruit garden in the back represents an ideal playground for children and their pastimes, while the annexe has already received the necessary permits to be converted into housing.
Reference 154522
| Land registry surface area | 3244 m2 |
| Main building surface area | 172 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 3 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 200 m2 |
| Number of lots | 1 |
Aucune procédure en cours menée sur le fondement des articles 29-1 A et 29-1 de la loi n°65-557 du 10 juillet 1965 et de l’article L.615-6 du CCH
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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.
