House Ales (30)
A typical 16th century farmhouse with its chestnut drying shed and stable, overlooking a preserved hamlet, in the Cévennes National Park. The property is made up of a succession of buildings, some of which date back to the 16th century. It comprises three main buildings - the farmhouse, the hayloft above a stable and the chestnut drying shed, all connected by a terrace - and takes up almost half the hamlet.
The development of the buildings followed the harsh rhythms of life and the changes in local agricultural practises that have successively driven the area: chestnut growing, sheep and goat rearing, wheat and barley cropping. A barn where chestnuts were dried, a stable topped by a hayloft and a three-storey house with its bread oven - all these buildings testify to local farming activities. The northern facade, belonging to both the stable and the farmhouse, stretches along the pathway and connects the two buildings. The main entrance to the property, which provides access to the various buildings, is located in the centre of the facade. Once down the path, the passage on the right under a west-facing porch leads, via an alleyway, to the inner courtyard, where the eastern and southern facades of the farmhouse appear.
Finally, to the south-west of the property, the drying shed overlooks the terraces, which benefit from a plunging view of the Cévennes mountains, and a garden, which extends over four terraced plots formerly used for growing vegetables and now devoted to leisure and relaxation.
All the buildings are entirely of shale stone. The facades feature a large number of windows, the older ones are square and small, the more recent ones tall and narrow. The roofs of the various buildings are laid with flagstone, typical of the local architecture.
Thanks to the painstaking and thorough restoration work carried out in the 1970s by the former owners, the property has retained its authenticity and the materials that ensure it successfully blends in with the surrounding landscape. As a result, from the 1950s to the present day, the property has continued to welcome more and more travellers and hikers in search of a change of scenery in the heart of an unspoilt natural environment.
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Le Figaro Properties reference: 52529158
House Ales (30)
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