A renovated 18th-century house with a splendid stable to be restored,
on the edge of a village near the town of Agen, south-west France
on the edge of a village near the town of Agen, south-west France
Puymirol,
LOT-ET-GARONNE
aquitaine
47270
FR
Location
The medieval village in which the property lies is nestled in a lush valley where France’s Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne departments meet, not far from the quaint village of Puymirol, a typical example of a bastide – a small, fortified town built in south-west France in the Middle Ages. The village where the house stands grew around an abbey that was founded in the 11th century and was then given to Benedictine monks of the Cluniac order. The abbey thrived under these monks. The village includes an abbatial chateau that was built in around the year 1500, an open-sided 17th-century market hall, a museum, a primary school and a small shop for everyday needs.
The property is 30 minutes from the town of Agen with its high-speed train station, from which you can get to Montauban in 35 minutes, Bordeaux and Toulouse in 1 hour, and Paris in 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Description
The house enjoys a commanding position with a sweeping view of the village’s historical heart. It faces mainly south and east. You reach the property from a small road below it via a flight of stone steps beside the house’s terrace. A driveway also leads up to it, so you can arrive by car at the same level as the dwelling.
The house was built at the edge of its walled plot. Its grounds cover a little more than one hectare. At a slightly higher level, an old stable lies at a right angle to the house. This old stable faces the sunrises and stands beside a wood of tall trees that extends right behind it. A majestic Lebanese cedar planted in the year 1800 towers over the middle of the garden. And an orchard stretches just beyond it, running alongside a vast, gently sloping meadow.
The house was recently renovated entirely to the highest standards. Only the red barrel tiles of its roof could be cleaned up a little to finish the renovation work. The old stable with its remarkable arcade of round arches needs to be renovated.
A small shed lies beside the house. Beneath the terrace there is a spacious garage and a wine cellar. A swimming pool could be built on the grounds.
The house was built at the edge of its walled plot. Its grounds cover a little more than one hectare. At a slightly higher level, an old stable lies at a right angle to the house. This old stable faces the sunrises and stands beside a wood of tall trees that extends right behind it. A majestic Lebanese cedar planted in the year 1800 towers over the middle of the garden. And an orchard stretches just beyond it, running alongside a vast, gently sloping meadow.
The house was recently renovated entirely to the highest standards. Only the red barrel tiles of its roof could be cleaned up a little to finish the renovation work. The old stable with its remarkable arcade of round arches needs to be renovated.
A small shed lies beside the house. Beneath the terrace there is a spacious garage and a wine cellar. A swimming pool could be built on the grounds.
The grand house
The house has a ground floor, a first floor and a loft. It is built of white stone with warm orangey red tones that is typical of this part of the Pays de Serres province, the local area. Its facade is evenly punctuated with six openings per floor: five windows and one door on the ground floor and six windows on the first floor. Each window is fitted with wooden shutters painted pale blue. The entrance door is off-centre in relation to the neat arrangement of windows around it. Above each first-floor window lintel there is a little arch of stonework. Small circular windows above them aerate the loft space and naturally ensure comfortable temperatures inside the house. Such circular windows are traditional features of buildings in this region. On the right, there is a buttress from a building that has now disappeared. It marks the facade’s east edge. The house is crowned with a hipped roof of monk-and-nun tiling underlined with a génoise cornice. Two chimney stacks rise up from it.
The ground floor
The wooden two-leaf entrance door is capped with a rectangular fanlight of small square panes that recall those of the house’s other windows. This main door leads into an entrance hall, which includes a cloakroom area on the right. The hallway extends leftwards into a broad corridor with pale wood strip flooring that leads to the rooms on the ground floor.
Straight ahead, an old door painted pale blue leads into a kitchen with a floor of tomette tiles and a section with wood strip flooring. Exposed beams painted white run across the ceiling. Window frames painted pale blue punctuate the walls. The kitchen features an old stone sink that has been restored. It is flanked with two large windows and stands beneath a small rectangular window that is at once practical and decorative. An old fireplace alcove where meals were once cooked has given way to a cooker and storage spaces. A central island unit and wall shelves also provide handy storage space. Natural light floods the kitchen from three sides and several windows. A glazed door leads straight out onto the terrace, which offers a panoramic view of the village and the surroundings.
The corridor leads to a large room: a lounge and dining area. This vast dual-aspect space is bathed in natural light. A grey-marble fireplace adorns the lounge area. Beneath a flight of timber stairs that leads upstairs there is a lavatory and a shower.
The upstairs
A half-turn staircase takes you up to a landing, which connects to the first-floor rooms, the old wood strip floors of which have been masterfully restored and lightened to showcase them. Some ceilings have been painted in the same pale-blue tone as that of most of the window frames. This soft hue adds a light touch of colour, brought out by the white of the walls. On the left, there is a large bedroom that looks out at the garden. It is completed with a small adjoining room that includes a tailor-made walk-in wardrobe built of pinewood. On the right-hand side of the landing, there are two bedrooms. One faces the garden and the other one faces the road. With their different doorways, they can connect to each other or be made completely separate. A bathroom with a shower, a lavatory and a bathtub can be reached separately from each of the bedrooms.
The old stable
The architecture of this fine building is remarkable. The edifice probably dates back to the end of the 17th century. It features an arcade of six round arches with thick square pillars. Six windows fitted with wooden shutters are positioned above this arcade in a row that is just as even. These round arches form a covered gallery that connects to several large rooms. Among these rooms, there is a smaller one that houses an old bread oven. The upstairs floor has disappeared almost entirely, but restoration work on the building could easily bring it back as the solid joists are still in place. Alternatively, a cathedral ceiling could be kept here, at least partly, to showcase the beautiful roof frame.
The grounds
The grounds are enclosed with retaining walls and look down at the small road that runs alongside their longest edge. The land is divided into several sections. The area that lies furthest away from the buildings is a vast, gently sloping meadow. An orchard takes up its flattest part. In this orchard there are cherry trees, pear trees, apple trees, fig trees, apricot trees and several varieties of plum trees, which produce mirabelle plums and black plums. Behind the stable, there is a small wood with tall trees, including oaks. The garden lies in front of the house and the stable. It is regularly maintained. Age-old trees tower on it, including a cedar and a horse chestnut. There is also a well on the grounds, but it needs to be put back into working order.
Our opinion
The calm and beauty of this remarkable property reflect its surroundings: a bucolic backdrop and a quaint village. The dwelling lies close to the heart of its charming medieval village, overlooking it from a raised plot. Yet this home is also a gateway to nature as it is nestled by a wood and country lanes. Inside, old decorative features have been carefully preserved. Masterful renovation work has enhanced the interior through a subtle, tasteful combination of modern touches with the house’s historical aspects. The old stable’s elegant facade is truly splendid with its arcade of round arches evenly laid out. This stable needs to be reinvented inside: here you can give free rein to your imagination to bring your most ambitious projects to life.
Reference 443955
| Land registry surface area | 10835 m2 |
| Main building surface area | 182 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 3 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 250 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.
