A noble Renaissance-era dwelling, its holiday cottage and outbuildings in a 2-hectare enclosed park overlooking the valley, within the PĂ©rigord Blanc
A noble Renaissance-era dwelling, its holiday cottage and outbuildings in a 2-hectare enclosed park overlooking the valley, within the PĂ©rigord Blanc region.
In south-eastern France, in the centre of the Dordogne department, the PĂ©rigord Blanc offers a hilly landscape and old buildings of white limestone from local quarries which change colour with the ambient light. The area is easily accessed by the A89 motorway which links Bordeaux to Lyon via PĂ©rigueux and Brive, and by the Bordeaux-PĂ©rigueux-Limoges railway line. The airports of Bergerac and Bordeaux are respectively 50 min and 1h30 away.
It takes less than 10 minutes to drive to the nearest town, which has all the essential shops and services, and PĂ©rigueux, the administrative centre of the department, can be easily reached.
Dating from the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries, the property stands on a hillside, protected by woodlands to the south and overlooking the valley to the north and west. The high north end walls of the main edifice, with sparse openings, the buttresses and the round tower of the current guest house testify to the fact that this was once a fortified castle. A tree-lined driveway leads from the entrance gate to the noble residence, while a track running alongside the tennis court meets the outbuildings and a swimming pool at the bottom of a slope. A barely visible lap pool is perfectly embedded in the park surrounding the complex. The residence is framed by two enclosed spaces, each offering a breathtaking view: the courtyard where the main entrance is located, a well topped by a pyramid-shaped roof, an outbuilding used as a garden shed, a hangar for vehicles, as well as a pool facing a low pilaster and dressed stone wall. All of these are accessed via a carriage gate, a pedestrian gate and a recently installed gate. On the other side of the residence, the lawned garden with bountiful flowers features a summer dining area under a covered patio.
The Noble DwellingThe former fortified castle with its four towers and a surrounding wall has been replaced over the years by a 15th and 16th century fortified manor house, which was extensively altered in the 18th century and restored in recent years. A rectangular building with a flat tile gambrel roof overlooks two dwellings set at right angles with gently sloping roofs and a few mullioned windows. A masonry watchtower in the corner keeps an eye on the Louis XIII style entrance door. Dressed stone surrounds the facades and the red wooden window frames.
The ground floor
The heavy studded wooden main entrance door opens onto the landing of a stone staircase without any gaps between the stringers, leading down to the cellars and the former underground passageway, and up to the first floor. The start of each of the two flights of steps is framed by a basket-handle arch adorned with a coat of arms and a carved pilaster. The wooden ceiling rests on finely carved joists with a pattern identical to that of the adjoining sitting room. The latter showcases wooden features, from the original ladder parquet to the beamed ceiling, a large fireplace with a straight hood, panelled doors and walls with carved woodwork. The room is flanked by a bedroom in the same style and a vast, dual-exposure dining room/sitting room, which is very bright thanks to the later addition of a semi-circular arched French window overlooking the lawned garden. The meticulous restoration, using noble materials, as in the adjoining kitchen, has highlighted the existing architectural features - the vegetable plot, the fireplaces and the recesses - while providing a high degree of living comfort.
The first floor
Three flights of stairs lead to the first floor. The main staircase and the service stairs behind the ground-floor bedroom lead to either end of a long, angled corridor which leads to two ...
