A tuffeau limestone house with secluded grounds, outbuildings and troglodyte cellars in the Touraine countryside - ref 670264
A tuffeau limestone house with secluded grounds, outbuildings and troglodyte cellars in the Touraine countryside.
Situated at the west end of the Sainte-Maure de Touraine plateau, on the western edge of the Centre-Val de Loire region, the house is located in a small village, a 15-minute drive from the town of Azay-le-Rideau. First mentioned in 11th-century records, the village is surrounded by picturesque valleys. It is situated just a few kilometres from one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France" and half an hour from Tours and its TGV station at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, from where services connect to Paris-Montparnasse in an average of 1 hour 30 minutes.
Set in approx. 1840 m² of enclosed grounds, the house faces the garden. The entrance from the road is through a low metal gate framed by pillars and rendered masonry walls, from where a driveway leads to the dwelling.
The various buildings, most of which face south, are all attached and form a complex consisting of a workshop with a right-angled extension, a barn and the main house. The facades are of exposed tuffeau limestone, and the windows have dressed tuffeau surrounds. The roofs have flat tiles, with the exception of the barn, which is covered in slate.
Finally, the front garden, entirely laid to grass and planted with trees and flowerbeds, stretches down to a series of troglodyte cellars that add to the uniqueness of the site.
The houseTwo of the three buildings make up the dwelling, the first is a single-storey structure with an attic, while the second, with a right-angled extension, has two levels topped by an attic. The facades, the first of dressed tuffeau limestone and the second of exposed stone, have numerous rectilinear windows of various sizes, with small or large-paned casement or French windows. From the garden, a few stone steps lead up to the main entrance door to the eastern part of the house.
The ground floor
At the corner of the right-angled extension, a half-glazed entrance door, painted white, opens onto a hallway with a lavatory and a staircase to the first floor. It serves a kitchen on one side and a dining room and sitting room on the other. The kitchen has exposed beams. A brick and stone fireplace is set against one of the walls. There are two doors, one opening onto the garden, the other into the barn. On the other side of the hallway, there is a vast double space, a combined dining and sitting room, separated by a step. The beams are exposed and the walls are painted. In the sitting room, a painted tuffeau fireplace is set against the rear wall. The floors are tiled throughout and all the windows open onto the garden.
The upstairs
The landing serves on one side a bathroom with exposed beams and a lavatory with tiled floors. An opposite corridor leads to three bedrooms followed by a study. The first two bedrooms are lit by windows, the third by two skylights. They all have exposed, white-painted beams. The flooring is of light-coloured laminate in the hallway and bedrooms, and carpet in the study. The outbuildingsThe first building at the entrance to the property adjoins the dwelling. It is accessed through a central front door opening onto a large room with a floor area of around 36 m². With its attic space, the building is currently used as a workshop and storage area. The second outbuilding, at the other end of the complex, is the barn, with a floor area of over 100 m². The cellarsNumerous troglodyte caves surround a large part of the garden. They vary in size; some have a stonework frontage, others are open. One of these contains an old wine press with a rectangular base.
