HouseChailly-en-Bière (77)

A 15th-century tithe barn and its 19th-century distillery, 10 kilometres north of Fontainebleau and 55 kilometres south of Paris. Thanks to the distillery’s location, environment and architecture, it gracefully balances its agricultural and industrial heritage, making it a genuine link between country and city life. Located on a fertile plain where a few grazing horses provide a bucolic touch, it is bordered on one side by market garden fields, while, from the building’s upper floor, the view extends over farmland, which provides a shimmering spectacle at sunset.
On the other side of the building, protected majestic trees, filtering the morning light, create a warm and intimate atmosphere around the stone constructions. The barn, commonly called the “tithe barn”, was formerly part of the seigniorial farm known as the “Fromagerie” or “Dairy”, built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Adjacent to the main building, it is topped with an original flat tile gable roof, supported by inversed wooden rafters, while a massive wooden door opens onto a paved courtyard.
The property’s industrial past is also visible thanks to the distillery’s metallic structure and loading dock, vestiges of its former activity, which are located opposite the main building. The beetroot distillery, built out of burrstone in the 19th century, has four storeys and is cadenced by large, rectilinear windows, which bathe its interior in light. Partially renovated with a flat tile gable roof, a building permit was submitted and approved, allowing it to be developed into three individual residential lots in the land register. In addition, the property is accessible via two entrances: one from the pedestrian path traversing the “Fromagerie” farm’s grand courtyard, while the other is via a large metallic gate giving onto farmland and the adjacent dirt track.