15 minutes from Saumur, in a village on the banks of the Loire, A 15th-century manor house with guest house, winter garden and hanging gardens - ref 5
15 minutes from Saumur, in a village on the banks of the Loire, A 15th-century manor house with guest house, winter garden and hanging gardens.
At the meeting point of two historic provinces in the Maine-et-Loire département, the property stands in a Loire valley village listed among the most beautiful in France. At the confluence of the rivers Vienne and Loire, the village retains its fluvial and troglodytic character, with its heritage of cave dwellings. Food shops, a farmers' market and a monthly flea market, one of the largest in the Val-de-Loire, draw antique dealers and craft artisans to the former port quays each month, alongside a year-round programme of arts and culture. Saumur and Chinon are 15 and 20 minutes away by road; Paris is 1 hour 40 minutes by train.
From a narrow lane east of the village centre, a wrought-iron gate flanked by two pilasters opens onto a paved courtyard. The principal dwelling, 15th-century, rises three levels in tuffeau, a soft white limestone quarried in the Loire valley, beneath a two-pitched slate roof. Where a paired window once opened, the north facade is now pierced by a moulded mullioned window surmounted by a divided semicircular arch. A 16th-century stair tower flanks the building to the west, extended by a rectangular neoclassical wing added in the 19th century, crowned by a hipped roof with a pedimented dormer. Corner pilasters with Ionic capitals, a dentilled cornice and panelled bays ornament the elevations; a sculpted medallion in the likeness of a page boy marks the entrance. The guest house to the west has its own street entrance as well as courtyard access. A vast vaulted cellar and a well complete the property.
The manor houseMeticulously restored using traditional materials and craftsmanship, the manor house has terracotta-tiled floors, exposed stone walls and French-style beamed ceilings throughout. Each opening is flanked by window seats built into the embrasure; the stained glass and interior joinery carry carved linen-fold motifs and period ironwork.
The ground floor
A landing opens onto two reception rooms en enfilade. A monumental 15th-century fireplace dominates the first, within which the bricked-up mouth of a bread oven remains visible. A stone water basin survives in the reveal of a window opening; traces of painted fleur-de-lys decoration remain on the walls. The second room, stone-flagged, holds a fitted kitchen and a well with a polygonal curb. A fireplace of comparable character stands against one wall, and a door opens directly onto the courtyard. A spiral staircase rises from the entrance to the upper levels.
The first floor
A door surmounted by a drip moulding carved with animal motifs opens onto a reception room of approximately 78 m², running east to west. A 16th-century fireplace, listed in the catalogue of historic monuments, commands the room: its mantel carved with fleurons, its hood bearing a heraldic motif, its crowning element inscribed with the motto "Bien est seant quy a bon lustre." A kitchen and a bedroom with bathroom and lavatory occupy the far end.
The second floor
Two bedrooms, each with a shower room and lavatory, look out over the Loire. A large mansard study completes the level, with access to insulated attic space ready for conversion.The guest houseRestored to the same standard as the manor house, the tuffeau building rises three levels beneath a slate roof. The top floor is given over to a winter garden opening onto a terrace on one side and a formal garden on the other, both set into the hillside and facing north towards the Loire.
On the ground floor, a kitchen leads to a sitting room with a wood-burning stove set in the fireplace. The first floor holds a triple-aspect bedroom, a shower room with lavatory ...
