A 19th-century watermill tucked away in the middle
of countryside, 1 hour and 30 minutes from Paris
of countryside, 1 hour and 30 minutes from Paris
Soissons,
AISNE
picardy
02200
FR
Location
This large watermill is nestled in absolute calm, far from urban bustle. It lies in France’s Aisne department in the Hauts-de-France region, beside a river that flows gently between poplars and willows in a lush backdrop. It is hidden in the countryside, yet it is close to convenient places. Shops are only 10 minutes away, in the neighbouring town. The cities of Soissons and Reims are respectively 20 and 40 minutes away. Paris is 1 hour and 30 minutes from the property and Paris Charles de Gaulle airport is only an hour away. The property has an advantageous location, close to many places of interest. You can quickly reach Laon, which is one of France’s most remarkable medieval cities, the gently undulating Champagne vineyards, and the historical town of Villers-Cotterêts with its museum of the French language, the ‘Cité internationale de la langue française’. Furthermore, many walking trails take you through the bucolic landscape.
Description
The property comes into view at the end of a lane, at the foot of a hill from where you can admire sweeping views of the valleys that form France’s beautiful Aisne department. Indeed, the village lies upon a hill, at the top of which an art deco church towers, forming a landmark in the local region. This spot, reaching up to the heavens, was a sacred site in the Middle Ages. Joan of Arc and Saint Louis engaged in private prayer here. And more recently, the site was a strategic lookout post, coveted and occupied by the German army in the First World War. Later, in occupied France in the Second World War, the Germans settled into the village again and in this mill. The old mill was built in 1840. An engraved stone in the facade indicates this. The mill carried on grinding grains up to 1958. The edifice, made of dressed stone, towers above a millrace, which is filled with water from the river. This building housed both the miller and his milling mechanism. The building’s impressive facade is almost 25 metres long. It is punctuated with eight bays of small-paned windows. A half-hipped slate roof crowns the edifice. The elevations are rather plain, except for three stringcourses that mark the different floors. Yet the feature that makes the building stand out is its bay of four vertically aligned doors with a wall dormer opening at the top. The mill towers in the middle of a vista that you look at from the entrance gate, between two long outbuildings that include a stable, a storehouse and a garage. At the back, the property stretches into a beautiful bucolic backdrop. Pasture, a vegetable patch, an orchard and tall trees line the river. The water is clear. And the four hectares of grounds form a vast, delightful natural haven.
The house
The ground floor
A solid wooden door beneath a fanlight leads into a hallway where the main staircase leads upstairs. On the left, there is a 40m² dual-aspect lounge filled with natural light. Its ambience is warm with wooden broad-strip flooring, a fireplace with a wooden mantel, wooden panelling painted almond green and a ceiling of whitened wood. From here, you can reach a wooden terrace where you can admire the landscape. Beyond the lounge, there is a small reading room filled with natural light from two windows. Three of its walls are lined with bookshelves. To the right of the hallway, there is a large space for everyday life. It is bathed in natural light and leads out to both the entrance court and the terrace. This space is divided into an open-plan kitchen and a dining area. A central counter separates the two areas. All the walls are white. The floor is adorned with pearl-grey tiles. An old stone sink bears witness to the age-old position of this kitchen. A pantry lies beside the kitchen. Lastly, a bedroom with wood-strip flooring and an adjoining bathroom completes this ground floor. On the right-side elevation, there is another entrance. It leads to a second staircase, which is separate from the main dwelling. These stairs lead up to two bedrooms with a bathroom.
The first floor
A central landing that runs from one side of the dwelling to the other connects to two bedrooms and a bathroom that they share. The main bedroom offers a floor area of 40m² and is bathed in natural light. It stands out for its two walls of sand-coloured stone, a third wall painted red, its golden wood-strip flooring, its ceiling of white wood, its three windows with white frames and its imposing central beam that is seven metres long. An office with a cathedral roof completes this bedroom. The second bedroom is more monastic in ambience.
The second floor
The second floor is taken up by a 200m² space with nine windows and exposed beams. It offers a wide range of possibilities for development.
The attic
The loft is a vast space that could be converted. Skylights fill it with natural light. Its exposed roof frame of old timber beams is impressive.
The basement
Down here, the mill’s beating heart would operate with its mechanism that would harness hydraulic energy. You can still see the system of gears that helped produce flour. A wine cellar completes the basement.
The outbuildings
On either side of the entrance gate, two buildings of rubble stone frame a court through which a driveway runs in line with the mill. In one of the outbuildings, there are, on the ground floor, two stables with a double loosebox and three single looseboxes, two storerooms, and a workshop with an earthen floor. Upstairs, there is a long hall that stretches along the entire building and does not have any partition walls. In the other outbuilding, which lies opposite, there is a barn, a woodstore and an open-sided garage in which three vehicles can be parked. At the foot of the mill, there is a small stone building crowned with a roof of local tiles. It resembles an old chapel, with a Romanesque arched window on one side.
The grounds
The property covers four hectares. It includes a forest, a meadow, an orchard, a vegetable patch and grassy expanses. All these spaces form a single, unbroken plot of land. The meadow is edged with trees that line the river. All around the property, there is cultivated countryside dotted with trees, without any buildings, electrical installations, wind farms or solar farms.
Our opinion
This old watermill has been fully restored with respect for its past and its historical architecture. The haven is nestled in a bucolic backdrop of absolute calm and unspoilt nature. Water still flows here and the pasture that stretches alongside the river is enchanting. For leisure activities, you are spoilt for choice: you can go fishing, walking or birdwatching on the grounds and in the surrounding countryside. Indeed, the current owners have spotted a wide range of wild birds that you can easily see from the house when they come to bathe. These birds include herons, egrets, storks, buzzards, pheasants, swallows and ducks. The watermill enjoys an exclusive, inalienable right to make use of the river water here and includes a waterfall. It could be used to produce electricity. This unique gem, hidden in the countryside, is a place where time stands still and where you can enjoy a truly pleasant lifestyle.
Reference 869535
| Land registry surface area | 4 ha |
| Main building surface area | 614 m2 |
| Number of bedrooms | 5 |
| Outbuilding surface area | 563 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.
