land for sale Saint-Martin, France

A 17th-century castle, overhauled in the 18th and 19th centuries, with outbuildings and meadows, 1 hour 30 minutes from Bordeaux and 5 minutes a striking fortified town. In the hamlet, in the centre of which stands the castle’s former church, two solid ashlar pillars topped with eagles conclude the estate’s low walls and mark the beginning of a long drive leading to the property. On either side of the drive, vast meadows surround the buildings, forming a natural barrier between them and the small country road that leads to the medieval village of Labastide d’Armagnac. The drive leading to the property splits in two: one part finishes at the former main entrance porch dating from 1662, a vestige of the now destroyed medieval castle, while the other leads directly to the courtyard on the edifice’s esplanade, via a recently created opening in the walls. Three buildings stand around the courtyard. The two double level, oblong outbuildings are built in an L-shape and close the courtyard to the west and to the north. The main building is slightly raised, having been built on the mound of the former castle belonging to Viscount de Juliac and the illustrious families who owned it one after another, from the Malvins in 785 to the Pujolés at the time of the French Revolution. A lawned area stands to the east, opposite the residence’s reception rooms. Other buildings of more modest proportions, formerly used to house the servants, extend from the storehouse and form a small pathway between the residence’s northern façade and the outbuildings awaiting restoration. The three storeys of this 650-m² edifice are all bathed in light and boast a rational layout on the ground floor, making them ideal for welcoming guests, while the upper floors could easily be transformed to bring them into line with modern standards of comfort.