A small, 18th century chateau to be renovated, its orangery and water features, on 6.3 hectares of farmlandi rrigated by a spring, in Brignoles - ref
A small, 18th century chateau to be renovated, its orangery and water features, on 6.3 hectares of farmlandi rrigated by a spring, in Brignoles.
Just 1.5 km from the centre of Brignoles, in the midst of a vast natural setting, spanning some 20 hectares, this chateau and its parklands are within easy reach by road as the slip roads for the A8 motorway, linking Nice to Aix-en-Provence before continuing towards Lyon and Paris, are nearby. Brignoles is less than an hour from the Mediterranean beaches. Toulon and Aix-en-Provence TGV train stations are a 45-minute drive away and Marseille international airport can be reached in an hour. Although the twenty or so hectares surrounding the chateau and its parklands are classified as farmland, no activities that might generate nuisances are practiced. They do, however, provide this property with a countrified setting and an unobstructed view over the surrounding hills.
The property is shaped like a vast, upside-down triangle of more than 6 hectares. The chateau is located in the north, in the middle of grounds of around 1.5 hectares, planted with trees including hundred-year-old cedars. The remaining 5 hectares, in the southern part of the property, were formerly used for market gardening, then as a tree nursery, before being left fallow. They form a natural separation between the chateau and the first houses in Brignoles. A greenhouse with an old orangery form a 2,500-m² enclosure immediately to the west of the chateau, in front of which a large irrigation pond over which a bridge crosses boasts vies of the hills to the south of Brignoles. The property can be reached by a private lane that runs around the grounds, leading to a vast wooded area to the north where there is a fountain. The oldest part of the chateau forms an extension to the south and dates back to the 18th century. A large extension was built in 1880 creating a long, adjacent building to the north, measuring more than 30 metres long, as well as two small wings at the end of which there are towers that flank the original house to the east and west. The 750 m² of this construction are divided into four apartments, one for the owners who mainly occupy the southern part, a second that can be reached via the south occupying the western part and lastly two others which can be reached by steps on the northern façade. Many different configurations are possible to recreate the ten impressive bedrooms the building originally possessed or, on the contrary, focus on reception rooms, with three lounges of more than 80 m² each, without discounting any other possible solutions.
The chateauConstructed in the second half of the 18th century, the original, rectangular, 3-storey chateau, with walls almost 80 cm thick, had a compact appearance. In 1880, a time when it was taken over by the family of the current owner, two wings leading to two small towers were added, together with a vast extension which spanned the full new width on the north side of the house. All the roofs, whether on the 18th century building, the extension or the two towers, are hipped. More recently, the residents have set aside the old section and the east wing for their own personal use and divided the west wing and the extension on the north side into three large flats. Two-thirds of the attic space has also been converted.
The ceilings vary in height between 3 and 3.3 m in the main rooms on the first and second levels, whilst they are limited to a height of approx. 2 m under the exposed beams in the converted attic.
The layout of the load-bearing walls is such that, if so desired, new owners could create three reception rooms, each spanning more than 80 m², on the ground and first floors by taking down intermediate partition walls.
The ground floor
An entrance door on the south side provides access to the owners' flat. The ...
