A converted medieval castle to be restored, with a terrace, gardens, outbuildings and land in the Quercy sector - ref 114665
A converted medieval castle to be restored, with a terrace, gardens, outbuildings and land in the Quercy sector.
This former castle stands in a peaceful valley combining old woods, orchards and small arable plots, bordered by quickset hedges, on the edges of the Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne areas, as well as the Occitanie and Nouvelle Aquitaine regions. It was built alongside the 'Auvernoise' ancient Celtic way and is close to a preserved village that is part of the Natura 2000 network and a natural zone of interest in ecological, wildlife and plant-life terms. Several shops and services provide for essential everyday needs. It is located 40 minutes from Agen and 45 minutes from Montauban, from whose stations high-speed TGV trains can be taken to Toulouse, Bordeaux or Paris. It is also a little more than 1 hour from Toulouse-Blagnac international airport.
A wide gate with slender railings framed by two square, white stone columns mark the entrance to the estate. A lane lined on one side by cedars leads up through the castle's grounds, winding between the first outbuildings: to the left, a barn and to the right a multi-purpose livestock building.
Once past them, the three-storey, north-south oriented, former fortress appears, built on a rock at the top of a hillside. It is adorned with a staircase tower containing a spiral staircase and is topped by a dovecote. Its facades, steeped in its history whose traces date back to the 11th century, are mainly made of stone interspersed with bricks and are regularly punctuated by primarily rectangular windows beneath a hipped roof made of barrel tiles. It is surrounded by partially enclosed gardens and, to the south, by a lawned and tree-lined terrace.
Lastly, behind the second outbuilding, an agricultural storage building completes the property's edifices.
The castleThe castle has a hipped roof topped by three chimney stacks and boasts facades combining ashlar, rubble stone and bricks. Traces such as a walled-up window or an accolade-shaped lintel point to past alterations. The ground floor is punctuated by arrow windows and straight openings, the first floor has single mullion windows and variously sized rectangular openings, while the top floor boasts small windows that allow light to filter into the loft. The staircase tower and dovecote are topped by a hipped roof made of barrel tiles.
A stoop lined by low walls topped with railings leads to the main entrance. Two steps climb to a massive, light-coloured wooden door with wrought-iron studs, framed by an ashlar surround, underlined by several concentric mouldings.
The ground floor
The entrance door opens into a hall with walls made of rubble stone and pink brick.
To the left, an ashlar pointed arched opening and a dark oakwood door lead to an approximately 47-m² lounge. In a corner, on a raised platform, a bar is bathed in light through two arrow windows fitted with stained glass. Its pink brick walls are built on a base of rubble stone. In one of the walls there is a slightly arched brick alcove. The ceiling of the hall and lounge is made up of white painted joists supported by massive dark coloured oak beams.
To the right, the hall leads into an approximately 37-m² kitchen. The left-hand wall is occupied by a large white stone fireplace and an alcove with wooden shelves. Two straight-sided openings topped by rectangular niches lead to a room to the rear that is currently used as a bedroom. Behind an arch, a double-leaf door leads to an approximately 56-m² boiler room with an exposed roof frame, in which there is an additional kitchen, a shower room and a lavatory. Two large steps descend towards small-paned triple French windows, topped with fanlights, leading out into the garden.
Lastly, opposite the entrance door to the castle, a massive white Quercy stone staircase leads to the ...
