A former «closerie» (small enclosed farmstead),
its two dwellings and troglodyte cellars on the edge of Tours
its two dwellings and troglodyte cellars on the edge of Tours
Tours,
INDRE-ET-LOIRE
center-val-de-loire
37000
FR
Location
Boasting a rich history, numerous chateaux, fine food and wines, the Touraine region is only 55 minutes from Paris via TGV high-speed trains from Tours station.
The village, which stretches as far as the Loire, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tours town centre with its railway station is less than 15 minutes away and offers a large variety of shops and a covered market held twice a week. There are a host of dynamic sporting and cultural associations, as well as a wide range of schools and public services.
Description
At the foot of the Loire hillside, a driveway leads to the property. Next to the farmhouse, a wooden gate framed by stone pillars opens on to the driveway that crosses the garden to an outbuilding that has been converted into a garage.
Directly opposite, the east-facing residence, built of tuffeau limestone with a slate roof, has two storeys and features a large terrace overlooking the garden. The garden is divided into two lawned areas, overlooked by a wooded area dotted with numerous troglodyte cellars.
The two residential buildings and the garage, although architecturally distinct, are similar in many respects: rendered stone facades two storeys high, rectangular, evenly spaced windows and gable roofs laid with clay or slate tiles.
Directly opposite, the east-facing residence, built of tuffeau limestone with a slate roof, has two storeys and features a large terrace overlooking the garden. The garden is divided into two lawned areas, overlooked by a wooded area dotted with numerous troglodyte cellars.
The two residential buildings and the garage, although architecturally distinct, are similar in many respects: rendered stone facades two storeys high, rectangular, evenly spaced windows and gable roofs laid with clay or slate tiles.
The residence
Facing east-west, the original building was extended at right angles in the 1960s. Topped by a slate roof with hip and catslide dormer windows, the main facade is rendered, revealing the white corner quoins and window surrounds. Large French windows on the garden level punctuate the main building, whereas the return at right angles features an open tuffeau arch.
At the front, a slate terrace runs the length of the two wings.
The ground floor
The most recent section, resembling a covered patio facing south, currently contains a summer lounge. A few steps lead to a wine cellar dug into the hillside. To the side, a door opens onto the entrance hallway of the house. It leads to a kitchen, a lavatory and a dining room extended by a sitting room. In the kitchen, two windows open on to a courtyard at the foot of the hillside. The floor and walls are tiled and a door leads to the boiler room. The dining room, lit by a glass door opening onto the terrace, connects to the sitting room. On the side, a quarter-turn wooden staircase with carved double pear balusters leads upstairs. A tuffeau fireplace adorns the sitting room, while the windows open on one side onto the terrace and garden, and on the other to a rear courtyard planted with trees and featuring a bread oven. The floors are tiled and the ceiling beams are exposed.
The upstairs
The corridor leads on one side to a bedroom, a study and a shower room, and on the other to a landing with storage space serving a second bedroom, a lavatory, a bathroom and a master bedroom. The first bedroom, the study, the shower room and the corridor are in the roofspace and wallpapered. Here and in the second bedroom and the landing the flooring is straight strip hardwood. The bathroom has a shower. Its floors and walls are tiled. Finally, the master bedroom takes up the entire upper floor of the wing at right angles. It is illuminated by a double south-facing dormer window and a glass door that opens onto a small terrace overlooking the garden. The painted walls feature wood panelling and cornices embellish the ceiling. There is a white marble fireplace. The floor is laid with terracotta tiles arranged in geometric patterns.
The farmhouse
A typical Touraine building, this was the home of the "closier" (vineyard worker) who looked after the estate's vines. In the 19th century, the painter Henri-Camille Danger (1857 - 1939) lived here for forty years, until his last day. Several of his paintings can be seen in the Tours Musée des Beaux-Arts, some of them depicting local landscapes.
As you enter the property, the farmhouse faces north-south. Two doors and small-paned windows punctuate the main facade. The coursed rubble masonry walls are rendered and topped by a tiled gable roof.
The ground floor
A solid wooden door opens onto a hallway leading to a kitchen and a shower room with toilet on the one hand, and a bedroom and sitting room in a row on the other. Directly opposite at the back, there is access to a gravel courtyard. Most of the walls are of tuffeau stone. The kitchen walls are plastered. The bedroom receives light from a window opening to the south. The sitting room features a tuffeau fireplace and a half-glazed, wooden farmhouse door leading to the front of the house. All the floors are laid with terracotta tiles, the ceiling beams are exposed and the walls are painted.
The attic
There is an opening in the gable wall providing access to the attic, which extends across the entire length of the building.
The outbuilding
The walls are of coursed rubble masonry and the stringcourses of dressed stone. The gable roof is clad with slate tiles. Today used as a garage, it has a floor area of roughly 35m² and provides parking for two vehicles.
The garden
Divided into two areas, the garden extends mainly to the front of the residence. The lawn facing the terrace is planted with roses. Below, a second area provides access to the wooded hillside and two troglodyte cellars. The garden features a well. Behind the walls, a chapel belonging to the local parish bears witness to the past: during the “Ancien Régime” (17-18th century), it was the site of pilgrimages in honour of the Virgin Mary. Lime trees planted on the side provide shade and coolness. Numerous terraces with different floorings surround the buildings.
The cellars
The cellars are dotted all along the hillside. The nearest ones, between the house and the garage, are currently used as a wine cellar, a woodshed and a place to store garden equipment. The two largest can be accessed from outdoors, below the lawned area.
Our opinion
This property with character, steeped in local history thanks to the painter who lived there and the nearby chapel, will reveal its full potential after some renovation works. The dynamism of the village and its proximity to Tours are real assets for a family wishing to breathe new life into the residence or for a holiday cottage development, surrounded by chateaux in the heart of the Loire Valley.
The unobstructed view of the surrounding countryside, afforded by the property's dominant position, and the garden with its many nooks and crannies combine to create a fantastic playground.
665 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 183415
| Land registry surface area | 3212 m2 |
| Main building surface area | 174 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 5 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 91 m2 |
| including refurbished area | 56 m2 |
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, its two dwellings and troglodyte cellars on the edge of Tours )
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.
