Only 10 minutes from Montreuil-sur-Mer, an authentic, 19th-century
flour mill, with a manor house and many outbuildings.
flour mill, with a manor house and many outbuildings.
Montreuil,
PAS-DE-CALAIS
north
62170
FR
Location
The mill is located on the outskirts of an authentic village in the southwest reaches of the Pas-de-Calais area and the western part of the Hauts-de-France region. The locality boasts all essential everyday shops. It only takes 10 minutes by car to reach Montreuil-sur-Mer, a former major seaport and one of the main tourist attractions in the region with its 13th-century and 16th-century ramparts. Le Touquet, often considered to be the pearl of the Côte d’Opale coastline, can be reached in 30 minutes. Lastly, a motorway junction on the A16, which virtually runs along the coast, is only a few kilometres away from the property, on the way to Étaples.
Description
This Picardy mill, standing in green pastureland, emerges into sight after crossing a small bridge over the waterway running past the edifice and heading up a drive bordered by meadows. The main courtyard can be reached through a wrought-iron gate. The property is made up of the former mill building, an adjoining manor house, as well as extensive outbuildings that form a second courtyard to the rear. A renovated pavilion standing opposite opens onto the garden which stretches down to the river.
The current mill was preceded by other older ones, which belonged to the lords of the realm, who took part in the crusades and, for some of them, perished at the battle of Agincourt. Their castle, which has since disappeared, was located in the meadows on the other side of the mill race, behind the mill building. All that remains of it is the castle mound where it was built.
Though the mill was probably out of use during the French Revolution, there are traces of its activity during the 19th century, as recounted in the “Annuaire du Pas-de-Calais” directory dated 1867, then in a newspaper published in 1883, in which the miller posted an advert for an “able mill caretaker”. In 1890, the mill burned down but was rebuilt that same year. The current manor house dates from that time. In 1933, the technological advances of the time saw the water wheel replaced by a turbine. The mill remained in activity until 31st March 2024.
The current mill was preceded by other older ones, which belonged to the lords of the realm, who took part in the crusades and, for some of them, perished at the battle of Agincourt. Their castle, which has since disappeared, was located in the meadows on the other side of the mill race, behind the mill building. All that remains of it is the castle mound where it was built.
Though the mill was probably out of use during the French Revolution, there are traces of its activity during the 19th century, as recounted in the “Annuaire du Pas-de-Calais” directory dated 1867, then in a newspaper published in 1883, in which the miller posted an advert for an “able mill caretaker”. In 1890, the mill burned down but was rebuilt that same year. The current manor house dates from that time. In 1933, the technological advances of the time saw the water wheel replaced by a turbine. The mill remained in activity until 31st March 2024.
The manor house
This three-storey building has a gabled slate roof. Its symmetrical, rendered façades boast moulded cornices, windowsills as well as door and window frames made of cement. Like the windows on the first level and the base of the wall, the large, arched entrance door frame, with a moulded keystone, is in imitation bossage. The ground floor is set around the main entrance, which has two windows on either side. The upper floor has five small or large paned windows.
The ground floor
The wooden entrance door with its wrought-iron grill leads into a hall paved with cement tiles. Through a door to the left, there is a lounge boasting a brick fireplace. The room has a neo-Gothic feel to it, thanks to the tiled floor and half-timbered walls. To the right of the entrance hall, there is the former kitchen, whose floor is also paved with cement tiles. It houses a monumental fireplace, whose hearth has been tiled, with a wooden mantelpiece. Either side of the fireplace, there are wooden cupboards. A glazed door with coloured panes of glass leads into a room with a glass wall that looks out to the rear of the house. At the end of the entrance hall to the left, there is a former laundry room in which there is still a sink. Lastly, opposite this room there is a wooden staircase, with cupboards underneath, leading to the upper floor. The staircase is bathed in light through a bullseye window.
The upstairs
The wooden staircase leads to a landing which in turn leads to the various bedrooms. The first of them has straight wood stripped flooring, cupboards, a wardrobe and an en suite bathroom with a lavatory. Nearby, there is a room used as an office while a second bedroom, with wood stripped flooring and a fireplace with wooden mantelpiece, can also be reached from the landing. The third bedroom also boasts large, straight wood stripped flooring. The wooden staircase also leads to an attic that can be converted and which extends over the entire surface of the house. The roof and roof frame are both in good condition.
The mill
The mill is built next to the manor house and has four storeys topped by a roof made of interlocking tiles. Its main façade, made of white-painted bricks, has arched window frames in which sash windows are installed. It boasts a crenelated cornice and sober belt courses painted light blue. The mill building extends to the north along the mill race and turns at right angle to link up with the outbuildings situated to the west.
The ground floor
The entrance door opens directly into the former millstone room, where wheat was transformed into flour until 31st March 2024 when milling activity halted. A door leads directly from this space into the manor house. A second door opens into the former turbine room as well as other rooms, including the one that played host to the motor, which is no longer present. A passage leads to a workshop and a silo. Through a door, the courtyard surrounded by the outbuildings can be reached.
The first floor
An iron flight of skeleton stairs leads to the first floor. In the first room, there is a former Hessian sack threshing machine. A door leads to a second room called the “pipe room” due to the presence of the pipes through which the wheat was conveyed into the millstone room below. Light streams into the room through three sash windows. The old seed separator can be found in a neighbouring room. A door leads from the first room into an old store with small windows, leaving the impression of a rampart walk overlooking the mill race. This was where the flour was stored. Indeed, there are still facilities for storing flour in place. A steel door leads into a room where large wooden cylinders have been preserved. The room is enclosed at the far end by a walkway overlooking the vast hangar linking the outbuildings.
The second floor
The iron skeleton staircase leads to the second floor from which a wooden skeleton staircase leads to a terrace. A door leads into a second room in which there are sash windows.
The third floor
The wooden skeleton staircase leads to a vast room with an exposed wooden roof frame and beams, which are in good condition, as well as wooden straight stripped flooring.
The estate keeper’s house
This building is located opposite the mill and alongside the mill race. It has a sloping roof made of interlocking tiles. Its façades are made of bricks, which are either painted or rendered. It is currently split in two, part of it for accommodation and part for storage. The dwelling includes an entrance hall, a bedroom, a kitchen, a shower room and a lounge with patio door opening onto the garden and its floors are tiled. All the windows are double glazed. This part of the property has been renovated. There is an outhouse that can be reached from the exterior. It contains a mezzanine, but it is not in a good state of repair. Lastly, nearby there is an old boiler house.
The outbuildings
They are located to the west and adjoin the large hanger to the north. This part of the buildings is shaped like a cross and has a cathedral ceiling as well as a large double-leaf door. It adjoins the mill building to create a semi-enclosed courtyard. At the end of the hangar, a double-leaf steel door opens onto the meadows to the north. The rendered façades are topped by roof made of interlocking tiles. In addition to the large hanger, the outbuildings include a former shop from where the flour was sold, a storeroom, a former coal shed, two garages, a former hen coop, a laundry room and a lavatory which is no longer in service.
The grounds
The property’s land of almost 2 hectares is made up of green meadows to the north and west, while to the south opposite the mill and following on from the estate keeper’s house, an ornamental garden runs down to the river.
To the east, through an iron gate, a cement bridge straddles the mill race, leading to a second gate situated on the other bank, reminiscent of a passage from “Le Château de ma Mère” by famous French author Marcel Pagnol.
Our opinion
This mill has stood at the water’s edge for over a century, paying witness to a time-honoured tradition that has lasted until the present day, and continuing to arouse the curiosity of visitors who gaze upon it. It has been remarkably well developed and modernised, as shown by its capacity to keep milling going until the present. With the large volumes it offers, alongside the manor house and outbuildings, its brick and tile architecture, as well as its finely decorated façades, it is simply waiting for someone to take the plunge and refurbish it. This atypical complex could be used to host events. It also has the potential to become a restaurant. It seems to be awaiting a future owner, able to sow the seeds of a new project worthy of its standing, in a very fertile environment.
330 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 692130
| Land registry surface area | 1 ha 83 a 50 ca |
| Main building surface area | 500 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 3 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 800 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.
