Manor Bernay (27)

A 16th century manor, its 20th century extension and its outbuilding in more than 7 ha of copses and meadows near to Bernay in the Eure department.
Fields and meadows alternate with numerous dense, irregular-shaped forests. Bernay, some 15 km away is a bustling town, with many shops and amenities, attractive restaurants, a rich local way of life as well as a train station on the Paris-Cherbourg line. The train provides numerous daily links to Paris, taking 1½-hours, whilst the journey via the A13 motorway takes 2 hours. Local shops are, however, but a few minutes away.
A little lane leads to wooden gates that open on to a driveway, disappearing into a copse. On the other side of the latter, said driveway leads to the grassy areas laid out in front of the main facade of the manor, extended at the back by an extension, added in the 20th century. The surroundings are planted with tall trees. The driveway continues alongside the copse to an outbuilding. Meadows are separated from the manor by wooden rail fencing.
The manor house and its extensionThis manor is constructed from flint quarry stone, enhanced with dressed stone for the quoins and the moulded surrounds framing the openings. The gable roof, covered with flat tiles, features tall Jacobin-style dormers. This house spans three levels in addition to a cellar. Its rear facade is flanked by a semi-engaged, octagonal, stairway tower. The 20th century extension is set at right angles. Spanning two levels, it is partially constructed from quarry stone blocks and partially from half-timbering. The roof is similar to that of the manor house.
Ground floor
Several entrances make it very easy to move around this house. A low door in the manor’s vast living room. A door in the tower. Two doors in the extension, one leading to a bedroom and, the other, directly to a kitchen. The spiral stairway alone provides access to the upper levels. It can be reached from the dining room in the manor. The two reception rooms are the most spectacular. High, French ceilings, large casement windows and impressive dressed stone fireplaces, with chimney breasts going up to the ceiling joists. Floors are laid with black and white tiles laid in a chessboard pattern. A door in the dining room opens into the kitchen. A stairway goes down to the cellar. And, a room adjoins a shower room and toilet as well as a bedroom. A toilet is concealed under the spiral stairway.
First floor
A little landing leads, on one side, to the rooms in the extension and, on the other, to a corridor giving access to two vast bedrooms, laid out above the reception rooms in the manor house. The floors are the same as those on the ground floor, the ceilings slightly lower and the windows are also casement. The matching fireplaces are impressive: with dressed stone jambs and lintels as well as thin-brick chimney breasts. Beams are exposed. In one of them, a water supply point has been concealed in a corner. The walls of the other are lined with floor-to-ceiling panelling and a bathroom has been added. In the extension, a flight of steps leads to a lounge, where wood is omnipresent on the walls, the floor and the ceiling cornices. A corridor provides access to a large bathroom and, further on, to a bedroom.
Attic
Both the roof height and the surface area are significant. A corridor provides access to two bedrooms, with their shower room; one also has a dressing room. They are illuminated via large dormers and smaller windows set in the gables.The outbuildingThis building is constructed from quarry stone blocks, partially left exposed and partially rendered. The walls are composed of half-timbering or wooden cladding. The gable roof is covered with flat tiles. On one side, a wide awning, covered with flat tiles, …