An 18th Century Residence, With 16th Century Outbuildings And A Formal Garden, In The Loire

An 18th-century residence, with 16th-century outbuildings and a formal garden, in the Loire Valley, near Chinon. At the corner of two small streets in the village centre, an ironwork gate framed by two embossed pillars opens into the main courtyard. The property was completed at the end of the 15th century and was destined at the time for collection of land tax for the king. In the middle of the 16th century, it was acquired by the Dreux family who owned it until the French Revolution. Its occupants were in turn an officer of the waterways and forests of Chinon, prosecutor for the bailiwick of the same town and a king’s adviser. It was partially burned in 1789, after which the main building was restored in the Directory era style. The three-storey building has a hipped roof dotted with four gable dormers with triangular pediments.

The tuffeau stone façade is topped by a modillon cornice. The many 18th-century bay windows enable light to stream into both sides of the house. The 16th-century outbuildings, found on either side of the house, are also made of tuffeau stone, combining façades of dressed stone and rubble stone. The roofs are made of slate and one of the buildings is topped by a hipped roof with slightly drawn back eaves. In addition to bedrooms and living rooms, the outbuildings contain two plum ovens that are closely linked to the municipality’s history, a bread oven, an orangery and a functioning well. In front of the house, the symmetry of the formal garden provides rhythm to the main courtyard. To the rear, there is a landscaped garden and a swimming pool. At a depth of 12 metres, there is a cellar with many tuffeau stone vaults, the use of which can still be read on the stone. The property stands in a fully enclosed plot of 4,521 m².
Information on the risks to which this property is exposed is available on the Géorisques website: https://www.georisques.gouv.fr/