From the secondary road through the hamlet, a tarmac lane leads east and quickly takes you to the watermill, edged with water on its north side. Beyond it, a stream flows from north to south across the property, between the house and a lake surrounded by dense woods. A small island in the middle of the lake becomes a peninsula when the water is at its lowest level in the summer. The enclosed lake can be supplied with water from the north. On the south side, a sluice gate leads to a fishery where fish can be caught by draining the lake.

The watermill

The building faces north and south. It is rectangular and made of exposed rubble masonry. Its window and door surrounds are made of dressed stone that contains fossilised shells. The old section dates back to the eighteenth century. Its roof has a hipped east end by the stream and a loft floor, like many houses in France’s Charente department. A more recent section with a single level extends the former watermill’s west side. Sand-coloured roughcast covers the walls of this section, which is capped with a two-slope roof. A small conservatory extends this section on its south side. The entire structure’s north side is edged with a larger conservatory that stands along the millrace. The latter flows to this spot as a reserve for turning the waterwheel, before continuing its path southwards. The whole building is surrounded by large trees, including oaks, ashes and alders. On its east side, a stream separates the structure from a lake that covers around two hectares. Countless towering trees stand around this oblong expanse of water. From the old watermill, you can cross a footbridge over the stream to reach the lake, which is itself linked to the stream via a canal that is closed in summer and open in winter for a supply of water. Further south, a fishery is used to catch fish periodically between the stream and the lake, which is drained for this purpose.

The garden-level floor
A stone staircase leads down to the mill’s machinery room. Only its millstone and mechanism of metal cogwheels remain. Wooden columns rise up to a ceiling of exposed beams. Exposed stonework forms the walls. The floor is tiled.

The ground floor
You enter the ground floor through either the small or large conservatory. The opposite end of the large conservatory leads to the stream and then over a footbridge to the lake. A pizza oven stands inside the large conservatory, beside its entrance. From this conservatory, you step through an entry doorway in the building’s wall of exposed stonework. It is framed with a dressed-stone surround and capped with a cornice. To the right of it there is a bull’s-eye window. Near the entrance, a staircase leads up to the first floor: a roof space. The main room has walls with plastering that leaves the stonework slightly exposed. It features a fireplace with curved piers. To the left of this fireplace is an alcove in the wall that is typical of old homes in France’s Charente department: it was used to heat up dishes, which would be placed on a grill, under which embers were laid then collected as ash in the ashtray at the floor level. On another side of the room, there remains a stone sink beneath a window. One set of French windows leads to a balcony on the south-west side and another set of French windows leads out above the waterwheel on the south-east side. A former professional kitchen from an old restaurant is fitted with a tap. Between the two ground-floor rooms, there is a lavatory with a washbasin.

The first floor
This roof space offers a floor area of around 80m². It needs to be converted. Partitions divide the space into three rooms and a bathroom. Small windows fill this roof space with natural light, beneath its exposed roof beams.