15,000 Follower Celebration Post! A 14th century castle built on the site of a 1st century Gallo-Roman villa, a half hour from Tours, France!
This has been such a fun project, and gathering 15,000 followers less than a year after I started this account has blown away all of my expectations. Thank you for all your lovely comments and messages! I love the dreams and feelings each of these houses contain, and I love seeing it resonate with you! I hope I can continue to provide you with many more little rabbit holes to descend.
This castle! The sheer history of its origins is amazing, but I also find it extremely cozy! The walled gardens are stunning. The interior hasn’t been changed since medieval times. I can imagine so many stories of life lived within these walls. It’s also only a half hour from the lively town of Tours, France!
I highly recommend reading the full listing, it’s written beautifully (translated from French, from Patrice Besse):
Situation
Within the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Natural Park and at the center of the perimeter classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Close to a town crossed by Vieux Cher, and watered by six other small rivers. Formerly a rich territory for the cultivation of flax, its finishing stretches between a hillside and a narrow strip of plateau. Today, several dozen hectares of AOP vines and many orchards are cultivated there, mainly planted with apple, pear and peach trees. At the foot of the hills, the village, built with old houses, including a hotel for travelers from the 15th and 16th century, is surrounded by a church classified as a Historic Monument more than secular, decorated with remarkable murals from the 12th and 13th restored. Ideally located within the perimeter of five of the most famous castles in the region, the place is amazing. Minutes from several small towns in the region and less than half an hour from Tours.
Description
Originally, the town dates from the Gallo-Roman era. But the current name did not appear until the beginning of the second half of the 12th century.
Former Châtellenie belonging to a nearby barony, authentic and homage, the current place dates from the 14th century. Since the very beginning of the 16th century, it has belonged to several owners, including a squire, lord and treasurer of the king in Tours. This continuous suite, established since that time, mentions certain personalities who have left their mark on the domain, such as a canon architect, who marked the place of his mark, or even a great press patron.Built on the site of the still visible remains of a Gallo-Roman villa with a square plan, dating from the 1st century AD, this medieval manor house was enlarged and modified during the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 20th centuries, while retaining its wall with its battlements and even its latrines and ditches. The fortified manor occupies the northwest corner of an enclosure, of quadrangular and regular form, whose curtain walls, completed and surmounted by a covered way and merlons, are flanked by cantilevered watchtowers on three angles. The fourth, to the northwest, is occupied by the manor. The stone building, covered with slate, includes two buildings perpendicular to each other and joined by a wing pierced at the level of the ground floor of a door in arched access to the interior courtyard. This door is surmounted by a high dormer window, with a triangular pediment, whose lighter which rests on three ravens of stone, represents a coat of arms surrounded by a crown of laurels. The North building is flanked, at its northeast and northwest angles, by two cylindrical towers. One of them houses a spiral staircase under the old oratory. The enclosure was surrounded by ditches which have partly survived. The garden, as unexpected as it was looked after, was imagined by the creator of the very famous gardens of a nearby castle. This flowerbed evokes the courtly novels of the Middle Ages with its humble plant decor. The restoration and maintenance of the architectural elements, both original and more recent, are carried out by the current owner who is very involved. As well as the beautification and amenity of the park, which surrounds and adorns the complex, of almost 5 hectares.
The manor
A country lane and a pleasant alley lined with lime trees, between countryside and orchards, leaves the small road and gently descends to this unusual place. Opposite, behind the surrounding wall, stands this bewitching silhouette. A large wooden gate opens onto the entrance courtyard and the interior gardens. In a corner, on the right, well concealed, a swimming pool designed as a filtering basin. A gravel path leaves on the left a stretch of wooded lawn, adorned with trimmed boxwood. It moves away towards a part of the park, slightly below.
At the bottom, a stream crosses the property. Another driveway, perpendicular, bordered by trees with surprising shapes, joins the other end of the property. To the left, an outbuilding and away from it and opposite, a caretaker’s house. On the right is the facade of the building. A recently restored wooden sleeper bridge spans the impressive ditches. At the bottom, a wine cellar, dug in the rock. A heavy wooden door accesses a stone porch which joins the interior garden. Inside, a few elements catch the eye, such as a quote, from a 15th century poet, carved in stone, on a broken third-point bow in brace, and in old graphics. A wooden door below opens onto an original reception room, formerly the guards’ room, with a remarkable stone fireplace fitted with a 17th century roasting pan, topped by a mezzanine. On both sides of the entrance, the main building is organized.In the first wing, north side, on the ground floor, a large vaulted kitchen, reminiscent of the atmosphere of kitchens from another era. Checkered, tiled floor with flat lift. A laundry room, a boiler room, toilets at the foot of a tower and a stone staircase going up to the floors. On the next level, a large dining room with stone fireplace, a living room, a pantry with lift and in one of the towers, a bedroom with a staircase leading to a terrace. On the second floor, a large living room, a bedroom, a bathroom with toilet. Slightly raised, the former oratory which has become a bedroom, with its ribbed vault. And on the upper level, three bedrooms, one with a bathroom, a bathroom and in one of the towers, a bedroom under a remarkable frame, with bathroom. The second wing, south side, includes the old guard room, or hunting room, with tribune, and stone fireplace. On the first floor, a bedroom, two bathrooms with each toilet and a hall with dressing room.
On the second level, a large bedroom with an imposing stone fireplace, a bathroom with toilet, a dressing room. And on the third floor, an old linen room, a bathroom, a toilet and a small room forming an alcove. High and monumental stone fireplaces, stone walls and exposed beams and oak parquet floors. Going through the reception rooms, on a human scale, whether it be the kitchen, or even the apartments, the interior of the building appears to have a family dimension. The building and the inner courtyard are fully listed on the Inventory of Historic Monuments and affiliated with the Historic Residence, as well as the Old French Houses.
Within the whole, protected by this fortified enclosure, the interior garden is outlined and discovered, all in delicacy and harmony, between finely trimmed boxwood and beautifully flowered roses. In the center, a fountain and opposite, the wall is pierced by another wooden door, which allows you to discover another French garden, with perfectly straight alignments.
And beyond, a small wood.What we think about it
Who has never dreamed of spending a night, a stay or even a life, in such a castle. A stately home where one would see oneself well, because everyone can imagine living there. But in an exceptional place, the time for a true escape through time and history. This site can in any case allow the enlightened and passionate buyer to make a project a reality or to realize a dream, and why not continue a reception and accommodation activity, or even open to visits to the public. While enjoying an exceptional panorama, and rare vestiges, important witnesses of the castral architecture of the medieval period. This building allows a reading of several centuries of history and architecture. As it is true that the place is both a true place of memory and a holiday resort. It is certainly a unique possibility for the pleasure of a return to a distant past, in a particularly calm and pleasant environment. A place steeped in history, an impression of being out of time, and an intimacy that invites you to daydream. An authentic place out of the ordinary, but truly a castle on a human scale, just half an hour from Tours.
And as an invitation, like a welcome message, this quote that we can read at the entrance: “It is only treasure to live at ease”.
Escapist To The Country 