In Charente-Maritime, 10 minutes from Saintes A 19th-century chateau, outbuildings, grounds and, as an option, a cottage and 4 ha of land - ref 562337
In Charente-Maritime, 10 minutes from Saintes A 19th-century chateau, outbuildings, grounds and, as an option, a cottage and 4 ha of land.
Ten minutes by road from the centre of Saintes, the property stands in Saintonge - a region with two thousand years of recorded history, known for its gentle climate and way of life, its authentic villages of stone and water, its vineyards producing Pineau des Charentes and Cognac, and its many pursuits, among them river trips on the Charente. A golf course and an equestrian centre lie close by. The sea is 45 minutes by car; Paris is 3 hours 30 minutes by train and 4 hours 30 minutes by road via the A10 motorway. Bordeaux is 1 hour 20 minutes away.
From the departmental road, between fields, woodland and vines, the chateau and its U-plan outbuildings come gradually into view. A gateway leads into the courtyard, where an old well survives. The main building is rectangular in plan, facing south-east towards the grounds and their tall trees. To the north, a longère-plan farm extends to the rear of the outbuildings; a large barn stands to the south-west. To the south, the wooded grounds give way to meadows that reach to the woodland edge.
The chateauBuilt to a neo-Gothic programme, it presents a high gabled slate roof carried on a modillion cornice and pierced by dormers. A narrow triangular pediment, its tympanum cut with a trefoil, frames the central dormer; above it, a carved figure of the Virgin. The dormers are linked by a finely worked openwork parapet, and the chimney stacks draw the eye further upward still. The main body is rectangular in plan, with lower set-back wings extending to either side; both elevations follow the same composition. The doors carry the Gothic vocabulary through to the detail, their ogee gables enriched with carved ornament.
The ground floor
The dual-aspect entrance hall opens from the central doors: the original stone-flag floor is laid diagonally in two tones, the walls are panelled in timber to mid-height, and the ceiling carries large coffers framed by a cornice. Beyond, a first room adjoins the dining room, which has a fireplace; the kitchen follows, its floor also in diagonal stone flags, and its Charentais fireplace fitted with a two-drawer warming range for keeping dishes hot. The back kitchen has a stone sink and a two-quarter-turn staircase rising to the upper levels. A bedroom with a marble fireplace, a shower room and a corridor leading to the storeroom and garage complete the level. Off a hallway, an oblong elm staircase leads to a room fitted as a library.
The first floor
The landing serves a lavatory and, beyond it, a bedroom with a fireplace overlooking the grounds. Opposite, the dual-aspect drawing room has a Louis XIV-style marble fireplace. To the left, two interconnecting bedrooms each have a fireplace.
The second floor
Light reaches this level through the dormer windows, one to each of the five bedrooms, all fitted with a wardrobe.
The third floor
At approximately 100 m², with ceiling height rising to the roof ridge, this level can be converted.The outbuildingsSeveral rubble-stone buildings - a gîte, a former dwelling, a farm building and a barn - share window and door surrounds in white limestone matching the main building. The gently pitched roofs are covered in barrel tiles, typical of south-west France.
Le gîte
One wing of the U contains a gîte with direct access to a terrace, comprising a kitchen with a fireplace, a bedroom also with a fireplace, and a living room with stone floors and stone walls beneath an oak roof truss. Further along the wing, a former dwelling awaiting renovation has its main entrance on the courtyard, with rooms arranged off a corridor. Numerous original features survive: ...
