A residence with a courtyard, to be renovated and enhanced, at the foot of the Alpilles mountains, tucked away in an ancient abbey - ref 901779
A residence with a courtyard, to be renovated and enhanced, at the foot of the Alpilles mountains, tucked away in an ancient abbey.
In Provence, in the north of the Bouches-du-Rhône area, very near Eygalières, only 10 kilometres from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and 30 kilometres from Avignon's high-speed TGV train station, this village is made up of two hamlets around the remains of a Cistercian abbey. The local community is actively involved in vegetable growing and handicrafts, with produce sold locally around its Romano-Byzantine church, schools, supermarket, bars and restaurants. A market with a typical Provence ambiance is held here every week. The house stands within the walls of a 12th-century Cistercian nunnery dedicated to Our Lady. It held the rights to local eel fishing and hemp was grown here, providing a certain amount of prosperity until the 16th century.
The house's facade overlooks the main square. To the right, the property includes a square stone defensive tower with a pointed-arched porch at its base. To the left, the corner tower, which is part of the neighbouring property, is another vestige of the fortified walls. The heavy wooden postern in the square tower, which is wide enough for a cart, has a pedestrian door in it, providing access to the residence. Above it, there is a semi-circular arch within a pointed arch illuminated by an antique lamp. The tower overlooks the two-storey house, with a rendered stone facade beneath an almost flat roof of barrel tiles. The main entrance is via a door fitted with anti-mosquito and anti-insect netting, flanked by two windows, above which there are two others but offset in relation to their position. The house, which will be partially and temporarily habitable during the necessary renovation (of the structure and finishing), has a surface of approximately 110 m², to which future occupants could add the more than 70 m² of attic space after conversion. An around 60-m² courtyard and an almost 30-m² terrace add to the enjoyment of outdoor living in a climate which is very pleasant throughout the year.
La maison
The ground floor
The entrance door, with a glazed Judas hole, opens directly into the lounge with a quadruple vaulted ceiling whose arches descend to the floor and, together with the four semi-circular load-bearing walls, create a slight recess within the room. The locally quarried stone has been plastered over in this room. The morning sunlight illuminates the black and white tiled floor through the windows overlooking the square. Another window opens onto the courtyard, making it possible to see visitors coming through the postern in the square tower.
On exiting the lounge, a corridor running parallel to the kitchen leads to a lavatory and a door opening into the courtyard.
A stone staircase, consolidated with cement to level the steps worn down by repeated usage, leads upstairs.
The upstairs
On this level, a corridor leads to three bedrooms and a shower room, meaning half of the house could be habitable over spring and summer during renovation work. Suspended ceilings have been installed; it is possible that they may conceal French-style beamed ceilings. One of the bedrooms has period cement tiled flooring in shades of purple. Lastly, a stone quarter turn staircase leads to the attic level, which awaits conversion.
The attic
The attic is divided into two parts beneath the rafters, with the roof frames and tiles requiring restoration. The purlins and joists do not display the same sloping pitch throughout. A carefully considered study of how to use the space, from floor to ceiling, would be beneficial before any conversion.The courtyardIt spreads over approximately 60 m² to the north, like the terrace, and is shaded from the heat of the sun. There ...
