Accessible via the B road located below, the three-storey edifice, set back from the road and up on a hill, overlooks the country lane and stands out from the surrounding vegetation thanks to its eye-catching white, yellow and red exterior, imposing stature and seven vertical rows of windows. A low red brick wall, skilfully made and bearing the name of the property, indicates the entrance to the estate, while the tarmacked drive, lined by two rows of catalpa trees, winds its way up the hill and eventually terminates on the right side of the manor. In addition, a hedge of cherry laurels partially conceals the caretaker’s cottage, which one must pass in order to access the esplanade, a vast gravel courtyard extending in front of the entire house.
Parking is possible here, unless one prefers to enjoy unobstructed views of the valley and parks their vehicle on the other side of the manor, either in the garage or on a grassy area reserved for this purpose, near the lane lined with lime trees. The latter, approximately 100 metres long and perfect for strolling, leads to a wooden gloriette, while the outbuilding, located on this side of the dwelling, includes a garage, wine cellar and dovecote.
As for the landscaped grounds, they extend towards the front of the property, while the pasture and ornamental garden are located on the side. With several fruit and ornamental trees scattered throughout, the Italian-inspired terraced garden covers a large portion of the grounds in front of the manor, whereas, in the back, a wooded hillside provides welcome natural protection. Lastly, the swimming pool, located on the first terraced garden level, is partially hidden by thickets of shrubs.

The Manor House

Built in the 1830s according to a rectangular plan approximately 30 metres long and 16 metres wide, the manor house, with roughly 600 m², has three storeys: a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor built under the eaves. With a new Roman tile roof, its main façade has a sophisticated original design, combining classical, symmetrical proportions with understated décor. Cadenced by rectangular windows on its first two levels, a stone balcony on the first floor, safeguarded by a wrought-iron guardrail, overlooks the front door. In addition, the manor is topped on either side with a second floor, which are bathed in light by arched windows flanked by two engaged columns, while a cornice highlighting the triangular pediments at their summit provides a touch of elegance to the manor’s overall composition. Echoing these two lateral pediments is a third central pediment, the tympanum of which is decorated with a large oculus protected by a basket-shaped guardrail and framed on either side by two small bull’s-eye windows.
An initial renovation that modernised the premises took place around 1920 by the occupant at that time, a Colombian ambassador, who was assisted by the architect Louis Basalo, while renovations meant to update all the buildings in terms of comfort and standards were recently carried out, enabling the premises to recover their lustre from the early 20th century.
With spacious and luminous rooms throughout, the living and service areas are located on the ground floor, while the twelve bedrooms scattered over the two upper floors each have their own private lavatory.

The ground floor
Painted 19th-century wooden double doors open onto the wide gallery-like entrance hall with white walls and colourful cement floor tiles decorated with a frieze along their edges, like almost all of the other floors found on this level. In the back, after ascending two stone steps, is a floating spiral wooden staircase that leads to the upstairs levels, while, from the entrance hall, almost all of the rooms on the ground floor are accessible: a reading room and a study on one side, a dining room followed by another study on the other, while a hallway leads to the kitchen and a second living room in the back.
With bookshelves and a fireplace from the 19th century decorated with a wooden mantel and topped by a chimneybreast adorned with plaster angels, the reading room communicates with the second living room via a large arched passageway, while a wooden side door provides access to the adjacent study. Here, wood panelling covers two-thirds of the walls, which are, in turn, decorated with remarkable signed pyrographic works depicting the conquest of Cartagena.
Extending on from the reading room, is an intimate and cosy sitting room with a low ceiling covered in floral-patterned wallpaper, walls painted a dark ivy green and mitred herringbone hardwood floors, the whole bathed in a soft light filtered by its north-facing windows, which provide this room with its own unique atmosphere. A wooden door leads back to the entrance hall and opens onto the foot of the staircase and opposite a hallway that provides access, on one side, to a lavatory, followed by a laundry room giving onto a potential shower room and, at the back, via a finely crafted wooden door, the kitchen. Fitted with cupboards below its local ashlar stone work surface, the kitchen also includes an immense fireplace with a wooden mantel used during the winter months, as well as a floor decorated with chequered cement tiles. In addition, the kitchen provides access to the garden behind the dwelling via an old wooden door.
As for the dining room, it is accessible via a door hidden within the floor-to-ceiling wood panelling that decorates one of the kitchen’s walls. With a wide, recently renovated fireplace decorated with plasterworks, the dining room’s ceiling was lowered, as were some of the house’s other ceilings, whenever this did not negatively impact the interior’s overall aesthetics. Opposite the fireplace, wooden double doors, which open onto the entrance hall, provide views of the fireplace in the reading room when the latter’s own wooden double doors are open, thereby creating depth and a visual fluidity between the three rooms.
Following on from the dining room, the last room on the ground floor is currently used as a study and includes a small washbasin in the lower section of an 18th-century corner table, while most of the house’s wood-framed windows have been recently replaced, except for a couple on its northern side, which will need to be changed.
The first floor
The staircase leads to a dual-aspect hallway with a curved ceiling that is flanked on either end by wooden glass double doors crowned with arched fanlights. In addition, wooden doors provide access to the different rooms on this level, while wide-plank hardwood floors can be found throughout. Facing the staircase, a room used as a study has a set of glass doors that open onto this floor’s large balcony, whereas two doors placed on either side of the room each provide access to a suite with a bedroom, shower room and lavatory. The one on the right has preserved its 19th-century William Morris wallpaper panels as well as wide-plank hardwood floors and a marble fireplace, while the bedroom, with two wardrobes, is located next to a smaller bedroom and a shower room. As for the suite on the left, it has a similar layout.
On the other side of the hallway, two bedrooms are located on either side of the staircase. Rectangular in shape with almost identical floor areas, their ceilings and joists are painted white, their walls are decorated in bright monochrome tones and they all have their own lavatory. Fitted with wall cupboards, one of them also includes a shower and a corner fireplace, while another lavatory was created near the last room on this floor and abuts a linen cupboard, which includes plenty of storage, original cupboards and a washbasin.
The second floor
Off to one side of the staircase on the mezzanine level, a bedroom, in need of refurbishing, was once used by the estate’s full-time chauffeur in the 20th century. Opposite the staircase, another bedroom, nestled under the eaves, enjoys breath-taking views of the Lot River Valley from this floor’s central oculus, while a narrow hallway then provides access to the two other bedrooms, located on either end of this floor, as well as their shower rooms. Bathed in light thanks to two picture windows, one of which is fitted with arched glass double doors that open onto a balcony, these rooms are protected from the summer heat by wooden shutters, while on the southern side, alternating with the converted rooms, two spaces each accessible via a wooden door, lead directly to the attic.