A restored 17th-century chateau with outbuildings, a garden, a swimming pool, a secondary dwelling and one hectare of grounds in Burgundy, France - re
A restored 17th-century chateau with outbuildings, a garden, a swimming pool, a secondary dwelling and one hectare of grounds in Burgundy, France.
The property is nestled in the north of France's Nièvre department in Burgundy, among the foothills of the enchanting Morvan regional nature park. It lies on a hillside on the southern edge of a hamlet. With a 13th-century church and a 16th-century cemetery cross, the chateau is part of the hamlet's built heritage. It is a 25-minute drive from the charming town of Vézelay - an emblematic stopover on the Camino de Santiago pilgrims' way. The town of Clamecy is 20 minutes away and the town of Avallon (where you can get onto the A6 motorway) is 30 minutes away. You can reach Paris in three hours and Dijon in 1 hour and 45 minutes.
You reach the chateau via a straight driveway lined with linden trees. Wrought-iron gates - once a carriage entrance and a pedestrian entrance - lead into the chateau's inner courtyard. The large gate is an electric gate. The main section of the edifice is plain in style. It is rectangular and has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor. On the garden side, the main section is extended with two square corner towers. There are many annexes around the court, including a secondary dwelling that adjoins the chateau's north side. The two dwellings are made of rubble stone with rendering and ashlar quoins and window surrounds. Hipped roofs of flat Burgundy tiles crown the two houses. The chateau's roof has dormers with triangular pediments, brick chimney stacks and terracotta finials. On the north side, the court is edged with a large building of annexes. Opposite it, there are various storerooms and a large stone well. The back of the chateau looks out at the grounds and a dovecote.
The chateauThe chateau's facade evokes the 17th century through its proportions, symmetry and forms. It is elegantly understated and punctuated with five tall rectangular windows set in ashlar surrounds. The windows are arranged harmoniously around the front door - a double door of wood painted white, beneath a large oval fanlight with panes in a sun-like pattern. The building's neatly laid stone quoins are exposed. Its hipped roof of tiles is punctuated with three pediment dormers at the front and three at the back. The edifice offers a 450m² liveable floor area, spread over three levels. It is well insulated with double glazing in all the windows. And upstairs, four bedrooms enjoy air conditioning.
The ground floor
The arched front door stands beneath a remarkable oval fanlight. The door leads into a hallway where a broad U-shaped stone staircase leads upstairs. The ceilings are vaulted and the floor is covered with slabs of Burgundy stone. The hallway connects to a large lounge on one side and to a dining room on the other. These rooms have floors of terracotta tiles and clay bricks. Remarkable fireplaces from the 17th century - one of limestone and one of brick - stand beneath French-style beamed ceilings of raw timber. The double-glazed windows are fitted with indoor shutters that close within large recesses. The kitchen has a floor of terracotta tiles. It lies beside the dining room. In the adjoining square towers, there is an office and a utility room. Tall rectangular small-paned windows with fanlights bathe the interior in natural light.
The first floor
On the first floor, the rooms are laid out symmetrically on each side of the landing. They include two large bedrooms with French-style beamed ceilings of oak joists and beams. Each one has a bathroom with a lavatory. Also on this level there is an office, two other bedrooms and spacious walk-in wardrobes. The floors are either covered with terracotta tiles or oak strips. The shutters, floors, glazed fanlights and skirting boards are all made of wood, either raw or ...
