A 19th-century town house with two outbuildings and vast grounds in a
small town in France’s Seine-et-Marne department, fifteen kilometres from Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau, SEINE-ET-MARNE ile-de-france 77300 FR

Location

The property lies south-east of Paris, in the heart of a town in France’s Brie province: Le Châtelet-en-Brie, the name of which comes from ‘castelletum’ – a military base that the Romans founded halfway between ‘Condate’ (the town of Montereau) and ‘Melodunum’ (the town of Melun). The locals enjoy shops and services nearby and their children can be schooled in the town up to secondary school. The Château des Dames, which the town bought in 1998, has become an outstanding cultural centre and its grounds are a pleasant spot for walks that is open to the public. The property lies near Fontainebleau forest, a few kilometres from the banks of the River Seine. It is around one hour from the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris by car or rail.

Description

A little ironwork gate opens from the street. It leads into a landscaped courtyard in front of the town house. On the right, a tall stone wall borders the property. And on the left, a simple, low wall crowned with wrought-iron railings separates the main house from one of its two annexes. Behind the house on the south side, lies a vast garden.

The house’s rear face is taller from the garden. From here, three distinct buildings can be seen. First, there is a building jutting out at a right angle to the main house. This is the second annexe. It used to be a caretaker’s lodge. Second, in the middle, stands the property’s main building. And last, in line with the latter lengthways, lies the first annexe.

The house

The house was built in the mid-nineteenth century. It is rectangular and made up of four bays. It offers around 235m² of living space over three floors, one of which is an attic floor. Its clipped gable roof of old tiles is punctuated with two hipped dormers above the second and third bays. On the courtyard side, corner pilasters, bands, lintels and window frame mouldings adorn the facade. Broad windows with large panes and wrought-iron guardrails herald a bright interior. A small flight of steps beneath a canopy leads up to the entrance door. On the garden side, a flight of steps takes you up to the rear entrance, which is also beneath a canopy.


The ground floor
The bright hallway has kept its original cement-tile flooring. On its right, it connects to a small cloakroom, a lavatory, stairs that lead down to the basement and a staircase that climbs to the upper floors. Opposite and to the left, the hallway leads into a dining room and a dual-aspect living room that overlooks the garden. Chevron parquet covers the floors. The ceilings are embellished with ceiling roses and mouldings. The walls are adorned with panelling. The living room and dining room respectively feature a grey marble fireplace with a trumeau mirror and a red marble fireplace. Inside the top of the latter is an original plate-warming compartment with copper doors. A door on one side of the dining room leads to a small landing in the first annexe. This landing connects to a kitchen on the garden side and to a bathroom on the street side.
The first floor
A landing connects to a bathroom with a shower and lavatory on the left, and to the first bedroom on the right. There are two other bedrooms in line with it, separated by a wardrobe. The rooms have high ceilings and are embellished with mouldings, ceiling roses and large wardrobes, most of which are built into the walls. One of the bedrooms has an en-suite bathroom.

Strip parquet flooring covers the whole storey, except the bathroom. All the rooms are filled with daylight from two large windows.

The attic
The second floor has sloping attic walls. A landing adorned with gold-patterned red wallpaper connects to a shower room with a lavatory, to two bedrooms, and to a living toom with a fitted kitchen. Hipped dormers and skylights fill this level with daylight. The floors alternate between strip parquet, large tiles and cabochon tiling. A trap door in the ceiling leads to the loft.
The basement
The basement extends beneath the entire house and leads directly into the garden. It contains a small vaulted cellar of exposed stonework, as well as a boiler.
The outbuilding
This old rectangular house made of local stone adjoins the large house's eastern gable end. The exposed stonework facade has been preserved and a sandy-coloured coating adorns its rear face overlooking the garden. It extends over three bays and is made up of three floors, one of which is an unconverted attic. Its old-tile gable roof is partly covered in solar panels on its south-facing side. Its bays are shaped with basket-handle arches. They stand out for their brickwork lintels and wooden shutters.

The ground floor connects to a garage, a bin storage area, a former stable that has kept its old trough, and a storage space for garden equipment. On the first floor, the first section is made up of a bathroom and a kitchen that can be reached directly from a small landing that also connects to the main building’s dining room. The second section is on the other side of the garage. It is divided into two small unconverted rooms.

The caretaker’s accommodation
This rectangular lodge was built in the nineteenth century. It demarcates the grounds on one side. It is made up of two storeys and has not been renovated. Beneath its gable roof and behind its rendered walls, it has kept some of its tomette-tile flooring, as well as its fireplaces in each first-floor room.

Our opinion

From the street, the property is clearly a fine town house. Yet from the garden, it looks like a country house due to the long bucolic view down grounds that are dotted with tall trees. In 1927, this property served as a backdrop for presenting the Citroën 5CV: the carmakers wanted the model to appeal to women. But houses do not have genders; just different styles at most. And the style of this house is classic and elegant. The many possibilities for renovation that the property offers should take into account its authentic character.

Exclusive sale

790 000 €
Fees at the Vendor’s expense


See the fee rates

Reference 958760

Land registry surface area 4997 m2
Main building surface area 246 m2
Number of bedrooms 5

French Energy Performance Diagnosis

Consultant

Aliette Rozan +33 1 42 84 80 85

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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.

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