A townhouse steeped in history and its outbuildings
90 km from Paris, in the centre of Compiègne
90 km from Paris, in the centre of Compiègne
Compiègne,
OISE
picardy
60200
FR
Location
Dating back to the Merovingian dynasty, the imperial town is situated at the meeting point of the Champagne, Picardy and Ile-de-France regions. Stretching chiefly along the left bank of the Oise, it is bordered to the south-east by the eponymous national forest. From the residence, it only takes 10 minutes to walk to the chateau, 5 minutes to the shops and 15 minutes to the railway station. The train connects to Paris in one hour. Alternatively, there is the A1 motorway, linking to the capital in 1 hour and to Charles-De-Gaulle airport in 30 minutes. It takes 2 hours to drive to Lille and 3 hours to Bruxelles.
Description
In the very centre of Compiègne, the townhouse can be accessed via a door in the central bay or through a large carriage entrance. This opens into a hallway that leads to the reception rooms, the kitchen and the wooded courtyard. At the back of the courtyard, the former outbuildings have now been transformed into a loft.
The townhouse
The half-timbered mansion was built in the 18th century and remodelled under Napoleon III. It has three levels with a street facade divided into six bays. Its architectural style is very sober, with a stone stringcourse separating the first two floors. The window lintels are decorated with mouldings on both levels. The openings are protected by louvered wooden shutters.
The ground floor
The porch - closed by two carriage gates with a pedestrian door - has been transformed into an entrance hall. It is still paved, as it was in the beginning, and serves the whole house. A door opens onto stone steps leading down to the cellar. Another glass door leads to the kitchen and a large small-paned double door to the courtyard. In a corner, a fountain that used to serve as a horse trough seems to be still awaiting their arrival. Two stone steps lead up to the former main entrance door of the mansion. It opens onto a hallway with cement tiles in colourful geometric patterns, which serves a dining room, a passageway with access to the street, a sitting room and an adjoining study. The rooms are lit by numerous rectangular windows still featuring their original espagnolette locks. The windows in the hallway and the study overlook the garden. The walls are clad with wainscoting, the floors are herringbone or straight strip parquet and the ceilings are adorned with cornices. The fireplace is of light-coloured marble with an overmantel mirror in the sitting room and of black marble in a corner of the study. The fireplace in the dining room has however been replaced by a marble warming cabinet set in a tall recess.
The first floor
The staircase starts in the ground floor hallway and leads to a landing with a bedroom and a laundry room on one side, and to a second bedroom and a bathroom on the other side. A corridor serves a third bedroom and a large bathroom with toilet. The marble fireplaces are still in place. The windows still offer pleasant views, either over a large green space on the street side or over the garden courtyard.
The second floor
The layout is much the same as on the first floor. On one side, there are two interconnected bedrooms, each with its own access to the landing. On the other, a large bedroom and its shower room with toilet. The corridor then reaches a last bedroom, also with its own bathroom and toilet.
The outbuildings
Once through the porch, the horse-drawn carriage stopped in the courtyard. The horses returned to their stables, the tack was hung up in the saddlery and the carriage was parked. The former hayloft and staff rooms are located above in the spacious attic. Today, these outbuildings have been transformed into a spacious loft with a large picture window (and its fixed part which extends over both levels) opening onto the garden. On the ground floor, a large doorway separates the sitting room from a second living space featuring the old stable and tack room woodwork as decorative elements. A door opens into a shower room with toilet. An iron spiral staircase provides access to a large mezzanine under a cathedral ceiling, also lit by roof windows. The entire space is bathed in natural light.
The courtyard garden
This has been redesigned to include a garden predominantly with roses and other plants. The surface area is about 85 m².
Our opinion
The uncluttered facade offers no clue as to the riches still to be found indoors, and which bear witness to a typical Napoleon III-style residence. The imperial palace and the town hall form the historical backdrop of this property. An access to an underground passageway that ran under the ramparts is still there, behind the cellar. The porch, converted into an entrance hall, still echoes with the sound of hooves. The past blends with the present in this residence, which offers very well-balanced proportions. This is a family residence with a soul, but it is also a reception venue, built in the era of literary salons and philosophers. Its longevity is due to this balance between private and social life, always with a lot of good cheer.
990 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense
Reference 219728
| Land registry surface area | 280 m2 |
| Main building surface area | 400 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 7 |
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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.
