A grand 19th-century house with grounds that cover 1.5 hectares in a charming village 20 kilometres north-east of Toulouse, France - ref 778956
A grand 19th-century house with grounds that cover 1.5 hectares in a charming village 20 kilometres north-east of Toulouse, France.
Toulouse can be quickly reached from the property. You can get onto the nearest motorway in less than 10 minutes. There are shops just a kilometre away, in a village with 3,500 inhabitants.
The natural surroundings of the grand house and its grounds are unspoilt, free of urban sprawl and invasive tourism. Farmland extends over undulating countryside. This gently hilly environment is dotted with groves. Streams flow through the land all year round. Walking trails also snake across the area. These include the GR 46 trail, part of the walking path linking the town of Conques to Toulouse - a stage on one of the Camino de Santiago pilgrim ways. So the property lies not just in a beautiful natural backdrop, but also beside a feature of Europe's cultural heritage.
A wrought-iron gate leads into a court: a lawn embellished with flowers. As soon as you step into this outdoor entrance area, towering linden trees, maples and horse chestnuts give you a sense of privacy. The edifice comes into view at the end of long paths lined with neatly trimmed trees and shrubs.The grand house was built in 1870. It has three floors. Two single-storey wings were added to the south-facing facade: one on each side of the main section, in the same style as the latter.The roofs of the three sections have either one or two slopes and are covered with monk-and-nun tiling. The whole edifice is made of red brick, which recalls the architecture that emerged in Toulouse's historical centre at the end of the 18th century and the start of the 19th century. The windows and doors are positioned evenly. Most are rectangular and some are arched. White-painted shutters protect them. In the main section, the layout of these doors and windows is perfectly symmetrical. The south-facing facade features a large triangular pediment at the top and two cornices that mark the three floors. Two round-arch entrance doors lead inside. Above each one there is a squat triangular pediment that is not underlined with a cornice but is similar to the large pediment at the top of the facade. Two sculpted stone corbels support a small central balcony on the first floor.The left wing houses a garage. The right wing houses an orangery, upon which a vast roof terrace extends, edged with stone balusters and brick pillars. The orangery's south face is punctuated with large wooden-framed windows, including a glazed door with a fanlight. In its eastern extension, there is a warden's apartment.On the north side, the right wing includes a square tower that stands between the warden's apartment and the main section. Two metal finials crown this tower's hipped roof.A gravel path runs along the facade and the building's left side, leading to the grounds. Behind the house, there is a large vegetable patch, an orchard and a tennis court at the bottom of a slope. The grand house The ground floor Two arched double doors of sculpted, painted wood with fine openwork at the top lead into the ground floor. The left-hand door takes you into a long L-shaped corridor adorned with two archways decorated with plaster ceiling roses. This corridor leads into an entrance hallway. Old tiles cover the floor, forming a grey and beige checked pattern.The right-hand door takes you into a small corridor that leads to a remarkable blue-toned carpeted office. Large wooden Napoleonic bookshelves cover two walls and frame a black-and-white-mottled marble fireplace. Diverse collections of rare objects make this room a unique cabinet of curiosities.
