An 18th-century manor with 4,000m² of lush grounds on the Camino de Santiago pilgrims' way in Normandy's Calvados department - ref 864407
An 18th-century manor with 4,000m² of lush grounds on the Camino de Santiago pilgrims' way in Normandy's Calvados department.
The property lies in the town of Lisieux, the capital of Normandy's beautiful Pays d'Auge province and the Côte Fleurie coastline. Lisieux has been an important episcopal town since the 7th century. Today, many pilgrims come here to honour Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. It has played a central role in Normandy's history and has kept many traces of its episcopal past. Tokens of this past include the Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse and the famous Saint-Pierre Cathedral that miraculously survived the WWII bombings of 1944. The town, nestled among hedge-lined meadows, is near a well-known cider trail - 'La Route du Cidre' - and vast beaches of fine sand that are punctuated with cliffs stretching 40 kilometres between the River Dives and the estuary of the River Seine. Lisieux offers specialist food shops and a good transport network. There is a train station that you can easily reach from the property. From there, you can get to Paris in around two hours by rail. The beaches of Ouistreham are less than one hour away by car. And Paris is less than three hours away by car via the A13 motorway.
The manor stands on slopes on the north side of Lisieux, near the River Touques. It is nestled in a lush backdrop. The property's origins date back to the Middle Ages. It owes its name to a canon who would receive a prebend from the bishop in return for teaching the Holy Scriptures. The extensive plot of land forms a triangle where two calm roads meet. The majestic building is a single edifice that looks out at lush lawns, which extend around a driveway. The driveway leads to the manor and garage. It splits into two separate lanes that run along either side of the manor. A group of tall trees on the north side lies beyond an orchard, a vegetable patch and lawns. A thick thuja hedge encloses the grounds, ensuring absolute privacy. Beyond it, there is a semi-rural environment of green landscape that is dotted with woods and that stretches to the horizon. The manor was built in the 1780s and 1790s when forest-clearing had almost been completed in the region. It is a half-timbered construction with timber framing that is typical of architecture in the Pays d'Auge province. The main section has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. Oak was used for the building's framework. Cob filler was used for the spaces between the beams and then lime-rendered. This method was inexpensive during the house's period of construction. Today, it characterises the identity and charm of traditional Norman homes. The timber framing is mainly in the building's upper section, its lower section being made of brick and stone. Old tiles cover the hipped roof. A protruding section on the east side that leads out southwards was built in the same style as the rest of the house, probably after the Second World War. Its roof has a jerkinhead end and eaves. The roof also has two dormers that face, at a right angle, two dormers on the roof's east slope. On the entrance side, there are three other hipped dormers. Two brick chimney stacks rise up from the roof too. All the windows are single-glazed and have small panes. At the end of the house, an additional section adjoins the manor. It has a gable roof of old tiles with a small dormer. This extension forms a garage. It is used as a utility section and was probably originally a farm building to which the manor was added.
The manor
The ground floor
A large hallway leads to a lounge, a dining room, a lavatory and a boiler room. The rooms are spacious and have kept high-quality old materials: terracotta, timber and stone. The entrance hall sets the tone for the rest of the interior. A glazed double door leads to an extensive space with a floor of terracotta ...
