A carefully restored 15th-century fortified manor house, with a swimming pool and 3-hectare grounds, in the Indrois Valley - ref 777783
A carefully restored 15th-century fortified manor house, with a swimming pool and 3-hectare grounds, in the Indrois Valley.
This property stands in undulating landscape on the edges of the Touraine and Sologne sectors, near to Loches forest. Several hamlets of houses with flat tiled roofs, typical of the region, are dotted around the surrounding countryside. Loches and its famous market are only 15 minutes away and Amboise is within 30 minutes' reach, from where direct trains can be taken to the French capital, which is also 3 hours away by road. Some famous Loire Valley châteaux can be found nearby: Chenonceaux, Saint-Aignan, Montpoupon and also Montrésor. The region is renowned for its culinary specialities and wines.
The homogeneous appearance of the residence and its outbuildings can be found apart from the hamlet, tucked away behind rows of trees. The grounds are partially wooded and are surrounded by the countryside. The property's buildings are set around a courtyard and the manor house was entirely restored in the 1980s. The facade of the main residence is dominated by a square, central tower housing a spiral staircase. All the external walls boast exposed stonework, while the large single and double leaf windows possess stone mullions, with granite and stone surrounds and sills. All the window frames have been replaced with oakwood ones, in which there is lead-framed, diamond shaped, stained-glass in transparent, green or yellow hues. Inside, all the rooms are paved with antique terracotta tiles, all the walls are rendered and there are exposed beams on the ceilings. Six monumental stone fireplaces with impressive jambs pay witness to the long history of the place.
The edifice is flanked on one side by a small house and on the other by a perpendicular wing of outbuildings with a lower height. A barn, at a right angle to the outbuildings, as well as a former pigsty and the surrounding wall enclose the courtyard, which is organised around a well and can be reached through a large gate. The rear facade of the residence is flanked at each end by square towers, while powerful buttresses frame the door in the centre. All the buildings boast facades made of exposed stonework and roofs made of flat tiles.
The main residence and small adjoining house
The ground floor
The everyday entrance is via the small house, into a hall, fitted with cupboards for coats, which leads on one side to a large kitchen, recently renovated in a modern style, with white lacquered fittings. Two windows face south over the courtyard and towards the grounds to the rear. On the other side, the hall leads to a dining room, which rather remarkably boasts a bread oven in the fireplace. This room also connects with the main residence. The lounge which follows, with a working monumental fireplace, opens onto the courtyard to the south through French windows and another window, while there is an office in the northwest tower. Next, there is a passage that is the guests' entrance, providing access to the staircase tower and the courtyard. The entrance door to the tower is adorned by small columns with capitals, topped by a pointed arch beneath a carved coat of arms. This space also includes a guests' lavatory and a large cloakroom also used as a utility room. The partitions in the cloakroom are half-timbered and filled in with small bricks. Lastly, the passage leads to a study, which also boasts an imposing, period stone fireplace that dominates the room. In addition to the south-facing windows, the room also possesses a door opening to the north into the grounds. Lastly, the final room on this level is a vast bedroom that forms a suite with the bathroom in the northeast tower. A door connects to the hall in the wing of outbuildings. In the square tower in the centre of the facade, the stone steps of the spiral staircase climb ...
