An 18th century manor house with a shaded garden, surrounded by nature, on the outskirts of a village perched on the eastern flanks of the Luberon Mou
An 18th century manor house with a shaded garden, surrounded by nature, on the outskirts of a village perched on the eastern flanks of the Luberon Mountains.
The Luberon Mountains, an emblematic range in Provence, stretch from west to east over almost 60 kilometres, from the Vaucluse Mountains to the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The gentler and undulating eastern part that extends to the River Durance is dotted with hilltop villages along country roads running from Avignon to Forcalquier. Manosque is the largest municipality in this territory and is somewhat of a hub, with many infrastructures and direct access to the A51 motorway to Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. The property, an 18th-century country house, is located in a village full of character, far from any hustle and bustle and surrounded by greenery.
This country house solemnly and imposingly looms into view at the end of a winding earthen track through the fields from the main road between Apt and Forcalquier, tucked away at the bottom of the Luberon Mountains' foothills. In bygone days, it was an integral part of a huge farming estate, spread around three buildings, including the main farmhouse, a short way away. The four-storey manor house faces due south. The property is surrounded by arable land that gently slopes down over three terraces to a river below. It was split from the rest of the estate during the second half of the 20th century, when the diocese of Marseille purchased it to set up a holiday centre for families. An outbuilding with a covered patio looking onto an olive grove that follows the same alignment as the main residence dates from this era in all likelihood.
The manor houseThis rectangular, symmetrical, stone-built and lime-rendered edifice is faithful to the architecture of late 18th-century country houses. The main entrance on the garden level has a double entrance hall, bordered by English rose bushes and lavender. Two upper floors are denoted by belt courses on the façade and are topped by a further level that was previously reserved for the personnel's bedrooms. The strictly balanced south and north façades are punctuated by an identical number of windows, fitted with wooden shutters on the southern façade. On the sides of the buildings, there is also a strict layout of windows: a single one on the second floor and two smaller ones on the attic level. An extra window has been added on the ground floor to provide easier access to the garden without passing through the entrance door. The first three levels boast impressive ceiling heights and a triple genoise corbel signals the floor of the attic level, beneath a gabled roof made of half-round tiles.
The garden-level floor
The main entrance door is in solid wood, topped by a fanlight window through which light streams. A first, smaller hall with a small-paned double-leaf glazed door separates the exterior from the second, larger entrance hall. Inside, on either side, there are two large, dual-aspect rooms. One of them includes a large dining area that merges into the kitchen, with a doorway carved out of the thick wall that opens onto the garden. On the other side of the entrance hall, a south-facing lounge blends into a dining room to the north. All the flooring is paved with terracotta tiles, whose warm hues strike a fine contrast with the white walls and exposed beams on the ceiling. Only the southwestern wall of the lounge boasts exposed stonework and a wood-burning stove has replaced the original fireplace, while the extractor hood in the kitchen is in the style of typical Provence fireplaces. At the rear of the entrance hall, a guests' lavatory is located beneath the main, double quarter-turn staircase, paved with terracotta tiles and fitted with wooden bullnoses, leading to the upper floors.
The first floor
On each intermediate level of the ...
