manor for sale Vaucluse, France

The “Mas de la Brune”, a listed, Renaissance-style gem, its 4 ha of parklands and its gardens at the foot of the Alpilles mountains in Eygalières. At the end of a row of two-hundred-year-old horse chestnut trees, three interconnected constructions comprise the buildings on this predominantly wooded, 4-ha property. The first is the Renaissance-style manor house, known as the “Mas de la Brune”, constructed in 1572; the only building of this type, standing in the middle of the land, rising up like a nave, proudly showing visitors the prow of its watch-turret. Directly adjoining the manor, a more recent construction dating from the 18th century stands in the shade of a three-hundred-year-old lime tree. This building once housed the staff accommodation. And lastly, on the east side, where a perimeter wall no doubt once existed, a rehabilitated farmhouse is separated from the manor by a row of cypress trees. Opening on to a vast courtyard that extends behind the French formal garden, it acts as a link with the rest of the parklands, where the permanent singing of the precious water, coming down from the Alpilles Mountains via the canal of the same name, can be heard. The French Historic Monument listing, dating from the 9 August 1924, applies solely to the “Mas de la Brune”, already showing on Cassini’s 18th century map under the name of “Grand Mas”. Some say it was constructed for the consul Pierre-Bruno-Isnard, who gave it the feminine version of his surname, whilst others maintain it was for an alchemist, whose name is long forgotten. In both cases, this outstanding building, entirely constructed from Baux stone, was probably built by master mason, Gaston-Flayelle, native of the Vivarais region, who also designed the “Hôtel de Manville” in Les-Baux-de-Provence. The size of the manor house, its biblical paraphrases sculpted on the façade, like a big open book, and including the secret number of steps of its spiral stairway tend to reinforce the hypothesis of an alchemist’s home. A spacious tiled swimming pool, cleverly concealed from onlookers in a copse of laurel bushes, has been installed a good distance from the main house. And lastly, a carpark, out of sight of the manor but able to take ten or so cars, has been laid out in the shade of mulberry plane trees.