An old canonry house listed as a historical monument,
nestled near the River Loire in France’s Touraine area
nestled near the River Loire in France’s Touraine area
Candes-Saint-Martin,
INDRE-ET-LOIRE
center-val-de-loire
37500
FR
Location
The property lies in the historical province of Touraine, a beautiful corner of France that English and French kings long fought over. In this lush region of forests and vineyards, nature enjoys the running water of the River Loire, the River Vienne and the River Cher. So it is hardly surprising that a regional nature park was set up here. This area, nicknamed France’s garden, is also a great place of tradition and heritage: the country’s most beautiful chateaux and villages dot the region.
A high-speed rail line links Paris to Tours: you can get from one city to the other in around an hour.
There are plenty of shops close to the property, just a few hundred metres away.
Description
The quiet street on which the house stands is a small road in the village, lined with tuffeau facades and punctuated with greenery. The facade gives an impression of the property’s full size. But only when you enter it do you see its true dimensions.
A statuette is perched above the entrance door – this icon is the only token of the building’s religious past.
A secret walled garden hidden behind the house covers around 1,000m².
A statuette is perched above the entrance door – this icon is the only token of the building’s religious past.
A secret walled garden hidden behind the house covers around 1,000m².
The old canonry house
This unique property was once a presbytery for canons. It was built in the twelfth century and has been listed as a historical monument since 1951. The house has three floors. It is made of tuffeau stone, a fine local material, and is crowned with a gabled slate roof. A hexagonal corner tower contains a spiral staircase that leads to each floor. A two-floor square tower – not as old as the rest of the building – adjoins the rear gable end to complete the edifice.
The ground floor
When you step through the discreet front door from the street, you enter a world of elegance and heritage.
The lounge, the house’s first room, has a floor covered with hexagonal terracotta tiles. This fine living room is adorned with wooden dado panelling too. The thickness of its walls – noticeable around the windows – is a token of the building’s excellent architectural quality.
A dining room lies next to the lounge. Cabochon-patterned travertine tiling adorns its floor. A plain fireplace stands against one of its walls. The dining room looks out at the garden through a glazed double door.
It leads to a kitchen, which is housed in the square tower that adjoins the building’s rear gable end. This kitchen also takes you straight out into the garden.
In addition to the spiral staircase in the corner tower, there is another staircase: a half-turn flight of wooden stairs that leads to the rest of the house. You can reach the latter from the lounge. And you can reach the tower’s spiral staircase from the dining room.
The first floor
The first floor includes an office in the tower and three bedrooms with a bathroom and lavatory.
Wooden strip flooring covers the whole of this level. The office and two of the bedrooms face the garden. The third bedroom faces the street and the village.
Exposed beams and joists run across the ceiling of one of the bedrooms.
The second floor
You can only reach this second floor via the spiral staircase in the corner tower. The floor includes two bedrooms, one of which has an en-suite bathroom and lavatory. This level’s strip flooring resembles that of the floor below it.
There is also a loft space that needs to be converted and that offers a floor area of around 35m².
The garden
The garden covers around 1,000m² and is organised into different sections. A green expanse of lawn, a shady path and plants that characterise French-style gardens structure this splendid outdoor space.
A single-storey outhouse contains a leisure room with a fireplace.
A shelter can be used to store gardening equipment, protecting it from bad weather. This space also includes a utility room.
Our opinion
The soothing calm of this haven, nestled close to a majestic river, echoes the spirituality of its ecclesiastical past. Its tall tuffeau face flanked with two old towers captures an architectural elegance in harmony with the property’s lush garden. The building’s status as a listed historical monument protects the future of this outstanding medieval edifice, which has been masterfully renovated. The house is tucked away in the heart of a charming village that is typical of France’s Touraine area. And it is ideally located in the country: Paris is just a short train ride away.
798 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 773370
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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.
