Location
Located in the Loir-et-Cher department, within the Centre-Val de Loire region, the property is about ten kilometres away from two small historic towns, while the surrounding villages include many shops and services. In addition, the mild climate is perfect for the production of wines, including the Protected Designation of Origin Coteaux-du-loir or Jasnières appellations. As for the capital, it is 210 kilometres away, while the high-speed rail stations in Vendôme, Le Mans and Tours are 30 and 50 kilometres away, respectively, and the Tours-Val de Loire airport is 40 kilometres away.
Description
Flanked on one side by a stairway tower with a modillion frieze and a slate roof, on the manor’s other gable end, stands a more modest one-storey building topped with an ancient tile roof. With plaster-coated walls, the manor is decorated with an ashlar stone cornice under the eaves as well as tuffeau stone window and door surrounds. In addition, the frames for the house’s single- or double-glazed cross-windows have all been replaced and are safeguarded by interior shutters.
Behind the house, 14 cellars have been hollowed out of the hillside, some of which once contained mushroom beds of varying depths. According to local legend, they also once communicated with the nearby Possonnière manor house where Pierre de Ronsard was born. Lastly, the property’s grounds also include a formal garden, an Italian-inspired garden, a landscaped garden, pinewoods, a dry riverbed and a pasture.
The Manor House
The ground floor
With a floor area of approximately 86 m², the ground floor’s interior layout was modified about ten years ago. Located in the stairway tower, the entrance hall opens onto a large dual-aspect living room with a monumental fireplace in tuffeau stone. As the room’s focal point, its column-shaped legs are richly decorated and its lintel is carved with the Ronsard family coat of arms, while the room’s exposed ceiling beams match perfectly with its large Burgundy stone floor tiles. Two vaulted passageways, clad in ashlar stone, lead, on one side, to a study, while, the other, provides access to a space, in which a dining area could be created, open towards both the living room as well as the outside. Behind a door is the dual-aspect kitchen, which is also accessible from the study via a wooden door. With its amenities and appliances on one side and a breakfast nook on the other near another Renaissance-style fireplace decorated with mascarons, the kitchen also has a door that provides access to the small adjoining building, which is used as a mudroom. With numerous storage spaces, outdoor access and Poncé-sur-Loir ceramic floor tiles, this building also contains an adjacent shower room with lavatory.
The first floor
Accessible via a wooden staircase in the entrance hall, this level has a floor area of approximately 67 m². A central hallway provides access to three spacious bedrooms as well as a bathroom with a bathtub, shower and lavatory. With either thick carpeted or painted hardwood floors, this level is warm and cosy with walls clad in either wood panelling, wall fabric or bookshelves.
The attic
With an insulated floor, this level is accessible from a trapdoor in the service room.
The Guesthouse
Facing the garden thanks to its glazed exterior, this one-storey building was converted into a guesthouse of approximately 35 m² and includes: a living room with a summer kitchen, a bedroom and a small shower room with lavatory.
The Grounds
Extending over a little more than 1.5 hectares, the grounds are planted with several multi-century trees, while lighting has been installed at the foot of the cellars and some of the vegetation is watered with an automatic irrigation system. In addition, ancient sculptures are scattered here and there, and, close to the property’s entrance, the formal garden is composed of yew tree topiaries, including a chessboard with a queen and knights. As for the “beheaded king”, it was replaced by a sculpture of “Benjamin Bunny” by Luc Léfort.
To the east of the manor, another pathway, lined on either side by a row of topiaries, was nicknamed the “little mushroom path”, while, following on from the formal garden, a lane lined with hazelnut trees leads to the landscaped garden. Beyond, pinewoods and fruit trees blanket the hillside, followed by a dry riverbed. Lastly, another path leads back towards the manor house, providing views of the Italian-inspired garden below, which extends on from the gardeners’ cellars.
The Cellars
Totalling fourteen in all and hollowed out of the hillside, these cellars are used for a variety of purposes: wine cellar, woodshed, furnace room, garage, workshop, cellar with winepress, lavatory, tunnels, etc.
Our opinion
In the valley where the great Ronsard was born, this elegant Renaissance manor house, shaded by the foliage of multi-century trees and flanked by a slender turret, was meticulously renovated about ten years ago. Displaying the poet’s coat of arms, this stately, but human-scale home is both comfortable and cosy as well as easy to maintain and inhabit in any season. With its extraordinary landscaped grounds, dotted with topiaries, antique sculptures and cellars hollowed out of the hillside, this property will be an ideal holiday home for its future occupants, situated only two hours from Paris.
Reference 262724
Land registry surface area | 1 ha 53 a 51 ca |
Main building surface area | 153 m2 |
Number of bedrooms | 4 |
Outbuilding surface area | 300 m2 |
including refurbished area | 35 m2 |
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.