House with poolMontpellier (34)

Price :

$2,661,000

USD

Euro € EURAmerican Dollar ($ USD)British Pound (£ GBP)

Surface623 m²bedrooms8 bathroom1 land2.6 ha

An impressive 19th-century family house and its outbuildings set in 2 5 ha of enclosed grounds on the outskirts of Montpellier. The mansion, referred to as a 'maison de maître', an architectural term used since ancient times, was inhabited by the owner of the rural estate on which it was built. Dating back to the end of the 19th century and standing on the edge of the city but not far from its centre, the sober, unadorned residence exuded comfort and a promise of family happiness, while at the same time embodying the fulfilment of a new social dream: that of attaining the prosperity of the affluent 'bourgeois' class.
From a track that runs through part of the village, a tall, wrought-iron double gate featuring cone-shaped spearhead finials framed by two stately stone pillars with geometric carvings and capitals surmounted by a vase bearing a globe, provides access to the property.
Directly opposite the entrance gate rises the main facade, with four generous openings on each level, topped by a four-pitched roof of monk-and-nun tiles. At the end of the rather steep slope on which the mansion is built, the outbuildings come into view: the caretaker's lodge which is still in use, an old shed and, forming a corner boundary, a dovecote with a conical stone roof.
The enclosed wooded grounds shelter the residence from the hustle and bustle of the city and feature an old horseshoe-shaped pool fed by a continuously running water fountain set back from the house, as well as a more recent swimming pool.
Today, the house bears ample evidence of the changes that have been made to alter its original configuration. But it has retained some noteworthy features, both inside and out: old-fashioned shutters and elaborate railings, original floors of grey Montpellier stone and terracotta quarry tiles, numerous marble fireplaces, sometimes with ornamental overmantels, and fixed stucco transoms above some of the doors.