A splendid 19th-century house with a vast walled garden dotted with trees, nestled in Le Mans near the city centre and train station - ref 245833
A splendid 19th-century house with a vast walled garden dotted with trees, nestled in Le Mans near the city centre and train station.
The property lies in a residential district of the city of Le Mans in France's Sarthe department in the beautiful Pays de la Loire region. From the home, you can stroll to the historical heart of the famous old Plantagenet city in just a few minutes. The house is only a stone's through from the city's botanical garden too. There are shops, schools and amenities nearby. And you can enjoy many sports and cultural and leisure activities in the city as well. From the high-speed train station in Le Mans, you can reach Paris in only an hour by rail, Lyon in three hours and Marseille in five hours. Motorways quickly take you to France's major western cities. And the Loire Valley is just an hour's drive away too.
The walled plot is located between two streets as part of a row of fine houses with a style typical of Le Mans. This plot is entirely enclosed with tall stone walls. Trees mark the end of the plot. At the front, a vehicle gate leads into a vast front court designed in an old style. It has one outbuilding on one side and a second outbuilding on the other side. This court serves as a parking area. The house has a T-shaped plan. It has a raised ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. The magnificent dwelling is crowned with a slate roof. On the street-facing side, you reach the entrance door via a short flight of front steps framed between thick balustrades. The facade is punctuated with a subtle combination of materials that bring out the verticality of the edifice. The quoins and window and door surrounds are made of pale limestone that alternates with red bricks. Guardrails dot the facade too and a wrought-iron canopy shelters the entrance door. A side avant-corps stands out for its tall, sharply pointed gable ends beneath a steep-sloped roof with overhanging edges. The windows are tall and straight-sided. The rear elevation is similar in style. A vast south-east-facing terrace edges it and leads out onto a newly seeded lawn. At the bottom of the garden there is a garage that you enter from another road.
The house
The ground floor
The ground floor is arranged around a dual-aspect entrance hall. At one end, a staircase leads upstairs and steps take you down to the basement too. The hallway has terrazzo-style flooring with mosaic. Wooden double doors, some of which are glazed, stand on either side. On one side, they lead into a first lounge and then to an office. On the other side, they take you into a second lounge and dining room beside a kitchen. You can also reach these spaces from a front gallery or the rear terrace. Oak chevron parquet extends across the reception rooms, which have high ceilings underlined with cornices. Natural light brings out fine wooden panelling on the walls. From the kitchen, you can reach a small building with a room, a lavatory, a shower room and a linen room.
The first floor
The wooden staircase takes you up to the first floor, which is filled with natural light from stained-glass windows. The three bedrooms up here are bright and spacious. They offer clear views of the surrounding gardens and city rooftops. Each one has a neighbouring bathroom. There is a lavatory on the landing too. Wood strip flooring extends across the rooms.
The second floor
A landing connects to three bedrooms. One of these bedrooms is big enough to be turned into a workshop. One room has a lavatory. There is also an insulated loft space up here that could be converted.
The basement
The cellars can be used as storerooms or wine cellars.
The outbuildingsSeveral outbuildings are spread out across the plot. There is a former caretaker's ...
