Manor Tours (37)

An astonishing gem concealed on the banks of the Loire, 25 km from Tours, in this 14th & 15th century fortified manor house, with parklands, gardens, streams and woods.
Set in the midst of the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park within a perimeter classified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Near to a town crossed by the Vieux-Cher river and watered by six other small streams.
Fertile land where flax was once cultivated, its territory extends between a hill and a narrow plateau.
Today, it is used for growing several dozen hectares of AOP wines and numerous orchards, predominantly planted with apple, pear and peach trees.
The buildings in the village, at the foot of the hills, comprise old houses, including a 15th and 16th century inn for travellers as well as an age-old, listed church, decorated with outstanding 12th and 13th century, restored murals.
Ideally located within the perimeter of five of the region’s most well-known chateaux, this property is astonishing.
Just a few minutes from several of the region’s small towns and less than 30 minutes from Tours.
The town originally dates from the Gallo-Roman era.
But its current name was first mentioned as of the start of the second half of the 12th century.
An old “châtellenie” (an officially recognised castle and its land) coming under the jurisdiction of a nearby barony, as well as a liege and loyal subject, this property actually dates from the 14th century.
As of the very beginning of the 16th century, it belonged to several owners, including an equerry, lord and treasurer of the king in Tours.
The continuous succession, confirmed since this time, consists of certain personalities who greatly marked the estate, such as an architect canon, having left his mark on the property, as well as a press magnate.
Built on the site of the still visible vestiges of a square, Gallo-Roman villa, dating from the 1st century AD, this medieval country house was extended and modified in the 15th, 16th, 17th and 20th centuries, although its battlemented perimeter wall, its latrines and its moat were preserved.
The fortified manor house takes up the north-west corner of a regular quadrangular enclosure, the curtain walls of which, completed and topped with a wall-walk and merlons, are flanked by watch-turrets with corbelling on three corners.
The fourth, on the north-west side, is taken up by the manor house.
The stone building, topped with a slate roof, comprises two buildings, set at right angles to one another and joined by a wing, featuring on the ground floor a triangular arched door providing entrance into the inner courtyard.
This door is topped with a tall roof dormer, with a triangular pediment, the apron of which, supported on three stone corbels, represents a coat-of-arms, surrounded by a laurel crown.
The north building is flanked on its north-east and north-west corners by two round towers.
One of the latter houses a spiral stairway under the old oratory.
The perimeter wall was surrounded by a moat, part of which is still in existence.
The garden, as unexpected as it is immaculately kept, would have been designed by the creator of the very famous gardens of a nearby chateau.
This parterre, with its humble decorative plants, is reminiscent of the courtly romances of the Middle-Ages.
The restoration and upkeep of architectural features, both original and more recent, are guaranteed by the current owner who has invested a great deal in this property.
He is also responsible for the embellishment and appeal of the parklands which surround and enhance the property over almost 5 hectares.
The manor houseA country lane and a pleasant, lime tree-lined driveway, between countryside and orchards, turns off the little road and leads slowly down to this unusual property.
Straight on, behind the perimeter wall, stands this entrancing silhouette.
Wide wooden …