An 18th-century mansion listed as a historical monument, in a 60-hectare estate of meadows, woods and coppices, in Normandy, 15 kilometres from Bayeux
An 18th-century mansion listed as a historical monument, in a 60-hectare estate of meadows, woods and coppices, in Normandy, 15 kilometres from Bayeux.
The village of Vaubadon in the Calvados area, 15 kilometres from Bayeux and 25 minutes from Omaha Beach, can easily be reached from Paris in 2 hours 30 minutes via the A13 motorway and then a dual carriageway. Bayeux's railway station and Caen-Carpiquet airport, located several kilometres away, also make regular travel easy. Cerisy forest and its surrounding countryside, boasting a considerable amount of architectural and historical heritage, are only several minutes away.
Before the entrance to the village of Vaubadon, hidden behind a thick hedge, a driveway lined by three rows of lime trees with lawns on either side stretches out in a long perspective leading into the estate. It leads to a wrought-iron gate that opens into the main courtyard surrounded by a moat. Different elements of the property stand around the courtyard: the walled vegetable garden and gardener's house, pond, tennis courts and outbuildings, set out around a wide central courtyard.
To the rear, the grounds, which are listed as a historical monument, spread out to a vast pond bordered with rhododendrons, which is not just a simple ornamental feature but a transition with the surrounding countryside, like a passage between an ordered canvas and a natural landscape left to express itself more freely.
The buildings are characterised by the regularly disposed openings, tall roofs and light-coloured stones. The mansion possesses a southeast-facing facade overlooking the courtyard whose orderly layout and harmonious proportions attest to its classical character. The two-storey edifice, topped by an attic level and standing above a half-underground garden level floor, is set around an original central section to which other volumes were added in the 19th century. The slate roofs are punctuated by dormers and tall chimney stacks as well as four taller pavilion roofs, giving rhythm to the building's silhouette and affirming the residence's presence in the landscape. Thanks to the clarity of its architecture, plus the combination of its symmetry, layout and decoration, the mansion was listed as a historical monument in 2012.
The mansionConstruction on the 18th-century residence began in 1739 on the order of the Le Tellier family, who were the local barons, before being completed in the second half of the century, around 1779. It boasts classical architecture, set around a middle section flanked by two pavilions. The central part of the middle section protrudes slightly and is topped by a sculpted triangular pediment and a more intricately crafted elevation. A stoop with two flights of steps and finely crafted balusters provides a gentler touch to the strictness of the facade. The openings with ashlar surrounds combine rectangular windows on the sides and arched ones in the middle.
The ground floor
In the centre, the entrance hall is paved with taco tiling and punctuated by three semi-circular ached openings. It runs all the way through the edifice, opening up the view to the grounds and pond.
To the left, a first lounge with pastel-coloured wood panelling is set around a veined white marble fireplace and precedes a large lounge with more ample volumes whose decoration features moulded beadwork and low-arched panelling. Next to these two lounges, a third room is currently unused.
To the right of the entrance, a dining room with celadon shaded wood panelling, leads to a study, with two-tone chevron parquet flooring, followed by a hallway leading to the Caen stone monumental staircase. Further on, there is a kitchen and three bedrooms, each boasting an en suite bathroom.
The first floor
The Caen stone staircase, with a supplely shaped wrought-iron balustrade featuring ...
