A manor with outbuildings and a 15th-century chapel, listed as a
historical Monument, with 10 hectares of land, between the Touraine and Berry regions
historical Monument, with 10 hectares of land, between the Touraine and Berry regions
Nouans-les-Fontaines,
INDRE
center-val-de-loire
37460
FR
Location
The property is located in a hamlet in the western part of the former Touraine province, now the Indre department, part of the Centre-Val de Loire region and only a stone’s throw away from the Loire Valley, a Unesco world heritage site, with its plethora of chateaus. The neighbouring town and villages include many shopkeepers and artisans, while the Beauval Zoo is 25 minutes away, the cities of Tours and Blois are 1 hour and 15 minutes away and the capital is 3 hours away via the A10 motorway.
Description
A wide gravel drive leads to the property’s entrance: an arched carriage door with a wooden gate flanked by the chapel’s gable end on one side and a defensive tower on the other. In dressed and exposed tuffeau stone, it is topped with a gabled flat-tile roof and opens onto a vast gravel courtyard and lawns decorated with flowerbeds, around which the different dwellings are located. An initial L-shaped building is flanked by the defensive tower and includes a reception space, a holiday cottage and bedrooms. Its gabled roofs are covered in flat tiles and punctuated by hayloft dormer windows with triangular pediments. A second building, with a gabled flat-tile roof, two gabled dormer windows and two hayloft dormer windows – all four with triangular pediments – abuts the chapel and is extended by the manor.
The third building, a square-shaped former dovecote, has been converted into a holiday cottage, built over two levels under an attic space, with a hipped slate roof. Following on from there is an individual cottage, with a three-sided roof covered in flat tiles and adorned with a hayloft dormer window with a triangular pediment. Its stone masonry façades are cadenced by different size windows, which are then surrounded by dressed tuffeau stone. In addition, the property also contains two outbuildings: one is located along the edge of the grounds, while the other is surrounded by woodland. Landscaped grounds spread out all around the buildings, with a small pond behind the manor and an aboveground swimming pool on pylons facing the fields and woods.
The third building, a square-shaped former dovecote, has been converted into a holiday cottage, built over two levels under an attic space, with a hipped slate roof. Following on from there is an individual cottage, with a three-sided roof covered in flat tiles and adorned with a hayloft dormer window with a triangular pediment. Its stone masonry façades are cadenced by different size windows, which are then surrounded by dressed tuffeau stone. In addition, the property also contains two outbuildings: one is located along the edge of the grounds, while the other is surrounded by woodland. Landscaped grounds spread out all around the buildings, with a small pond behind the manor and an aboveground swimming pool on pylons facing the fields and woods.
The Manor
With one floor and converted attic space, the building faces south and has a flat-tile roof as well as exposed stone façades that are cadenced by small-paned windows, glass doors as well as a solid wooden door. Understated, the façades' décor is concentrated around its dressed tuffeau stone quoins as well as window and door surrounds. The front door, adorned with a small-paned window, is located in the middle of the façade.
The ground floor
After a few steps, the front door opens onto a dual-aspect double vestibule, which includes a staircase that leads upstairs as well as a lavatory. On one side, it provides access to a vast living room with a stone fireplace and exposed stone walls, followed by a dining room. With carved wooden panels on three of its walls, this room also contains a wooden fireplace with a cast-iron stove and a door that leads to the kitchen with a utility room. On the other side of the vestibule is a small sitting room followed by a bedroom with a wardrobe and bathroom with lavatory. Hexagonal and square terracotta tiles cover the floors in the living areas, while black and white tiles decorate the floors of the bedroom. The ceiling’s wooden beams have been left visible throughout this level.
The attic
The landing leads to a bedroom with a shower room and lavatory, followed by a hallway, which leads to two more bedrooms, each with their own shower room and lavatory, while a second hallway leads to a final bedroom with a bathroom and lavatory. The floors on this level are covered in straight hardwood and painted white, while the ceiling’s wooden beams have been left exposed. The walls are all painted, except for one wall in the last bedroom with exposed stones. Dormer windows provide all the rooms with natural light.
The Reception Building with Holiday Cottage
Flanking the defensive tower and constructed in an L shape, it has one floor under converted attic space. The exposed stone façades, oriented east and north, are punctuated with small-paned windows and glass doors, while its window/door surrounds and quoins are decorated in dressed truffeau stone.
The ground floor
Wooden double doors open onto an independent room used for storage, while a second set of doors, this time glazed, gives onto a reception room with a bar. With exposed stone walls and wooden beams, this space is extended by a semi-professional kitchen with a concrete floor and painted walls, the door of which provides direct access outside. In the kitchen’s right-angle wing, a large glass door opens onto a vestibule with a flight of stairs that leads to the attic level, while a hallway provides access to three lavatories before leading to a second kitchen with a pantry. Another glass door opens onto the holiday cottage’s living room with open kitchen, which then leads to a bedroom and a bathroom with lavatory. All the floors are tiled throughout this level, while the walls are painted.
The attic
A landing leads to two bedrooms, a bathroom and an attic space. This level has straight-plank hardwood floors, exposed wooden ceiling beams, painted walls throughout – except for one of the bedrooms, whose gable end is covered in exposed stones – as well as skylights that bathe all the rooms in natural light.
The Dovecote
With two floors under an attic level, this building was converted into a small independent cottage. Its façades are cadenced with small-paned rectilinear windows, while the front door, also glazed, is located slightly off-centre to one side. Topped with a hipped slate roof, its façades' decoration is understated, concentrated around the dressed tuffeau stone window/door surrounds and quoins.
The ground floor
The front door opens onto a single room, which has been converted into a living room with an open kitchen in one corner and includes a staircase that leads upstairs. The travertine tile floors have been arranged in an Opus Roman pattern, while the walls are in exposed stone and the ceilings’ wooden beams have been left visible.
The upstairs
This includes a bedroom and a shower room with lavatory. The floors are hardwood, the walls are in exposed stone and the ceiling is painted.
The Cottage
With one floor under converted attic space, a conservatory, containing the house’s main entrance, abuts the cottage's eastern façade. In exposed stone, its façades include different size straight or rounded small-paned windows or glass doors, while its three-sided roof is covered in flat tiles and includes a hayloft dormer window on its western façade.
The ground floor
From the conservatory, used as a dining room with a stone fireplace, the front door opens onto a vestibule with a lavatory that leads to, on one side, the kitchen and then the living room while, on the other, a bedroom with bathroom. The conservatory has terracotta tile floors, while the rest of this level has imitation hardwood and exposed wooden ceiling beams. In the living room, with the staircase to the upstairs, a stone fireplace abuts one of the walls and a glass door opens onto a stone patio, facing the garden.
The attic
A vast landing with a lavatory leads to, on one side, a bedroom with bathtub while, on the other, a bedroom with a shower room and lavatory. The floors are covered in laminate, the walls are painted or wallpapered and the wooden ceiling beams have been left visible. Small-paned windows and skylights flood this floor with light.
The Chapel
Built in the 15th century and listed as a Historical Monument, it stands adjacent to one of the manor’s gable ends. Its solid wood entrance, off to one side, is framed by two pilasters topped with ornate capitals and opens onto a rectangular room with stone floors and a ribbed vaulted ceiling with a sculpted keystone. The chapel’s façade, in exposed stone, is cadenced by curved or Gothic arch windows surrounded by dressed tuffeau stone.
The Outbuildings
The first outbuilding, located in the woods near the property’s entrance, is a vast barn, with a floor area of nearly 250 m². Used as a garage and for storage, it is divided into several spaces. The second, located behind the dwellings, is a former agricultural storage building with an outhouse and a floor area of more than 200 m², which is currently used for storage and as a wood shed.
The Grounds
From the wooden gate, a gravel drive, bordered by flowerbeds, first passes a front garden, scattered with shrubs and rosebushes, enclosed by a low stone wall topped with a metalwork fence and accessed by a wrought-iron gate. Next, a vast lawn is bordered by tall trees, which indicate the beginning of the forest, before the drive eventually arrives at the central courtyard. The swimming pool and its deck on pylons are located along the edge of the woods, with a view of the pastures, while behind the manor, there is a pond shaded by trees.
Our opinion
Sheltered from view, behind its tall tuffeau stone carriage door, this vast and bucolic property is both elegant and unpretentious. The medieval turret and 15th-century chapel evoke a timeless history, while its grounds, planted with trees and flowers over 10 hectares, create a delicate and refined landscaped setting. Although the property's different buildings and outbuildings’ accommodation capacity would easily make it possible to open a reception-based or guesthouse activity here, this property could also become a magnificent holiday destination, typical of the Loire Valley, for a large family who want to spend their holidays relaxing by the swimming pool and enjoying the surrounding verdant nature, only 3 hours away from Paris.
1 220 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 181775
| Land registry surface area | 9 ha 94 a 99 ca |
| Main building surface area | 300 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 12 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 400 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.
