Delightfully Placed Newly Renovated Maison Bourgeoise Set in la Montagne Noire with1

Property Description

The property is delightfully placed in le Parc Naturel Regional du Haut-Languedoc in the Tarn (department 81) near Castres in la Montagne Noire (Black mountains) at an altitude of between 650-700m. It is situated in the country, is private and enjoys quietness and tranquillity. There is a small village 3km (2 miles) away with village shop, bar and postal facilities. There are larger towns which offer most facilities within 6-8km (4-5 miles), Castres and Revel being the nearest major towns. There are breath-taking views over the plain towards Puylaurens and beyond with a vista of over 50km.
The property is relatively unique in that it is one of the few private properties in the area which has forests/woods principally made up of deciduous trees: - oak, beech, ash, sweet chestnut, with a few pines. The soil is extremely good and quick draining with a depth of top layer up to several feet. The previous owner used to grow crops of oats on one 4 Ha field. There is an abundance of ponds, springs and streams. The domestic water is from a source close to the house, the overflow feeding an ornamental pond.
There is a plethora of wild life, both on the ground and in the air. On the ground there are, amongst others, hedgehogs, red squirrels, badgers, roe deer, pine martens, stone martens, wild boar and foxes. We are fortunate and have not been bothered by the latter despite having lots of poultry. In the air, too numerous to mention everyone, but here is a sample. We are on a migration route between Africa, Spain and the Central Massif in France mainly for birds of prey, but of course all the other smaller birds as well. There are bee eaters and hoopoes in the summer (only sporadically as we are at too high an altitude), and then there are waxwings and fieldfares in winter among many other breeds. There are resident green, black, lesser and greater spotted woodpeckers, and many more birds that change with the seasons. There are local bat colonies. We have toads, frogs, newts and salamanders in the wetter bits, mainly near old ponds constructed near springs to water sheep and cattle
Main House Accommodation
All measurements are approximate!!
This has slate floors and under floor heating throughout and consists of:-
Ground Floor
1. The original front doors, which date from between 1810-1820 and have been renovated to their former glory, open into the main entrée of 15m².There is a small vestibule/cloakroom of 5m² adjoining. From the entrée on your left there is:-
2. The main salon of approx. 60m² with exposed beams which has an 18Kw Godin log burning stove to augment the under floor heating.
3. There is an adjoining ante chamber of 11m² and its own chapel of 9m² (+ tower) attached.
4. To the right of the entrée is the newly equipped main kitchen of 27m². There is a stairway leading down to an atelier/workroom of 30m².
5. Opposite the main doors is the original granite staircase leading to the first floor and another staircase descending to some sous sol accommodation described later. There is a small toilet/cloakroom on a mezzanine level on the way downstairs. Down some more stairs from the cloakroom is the entrance to the “sous sol” apartments with two small cellars (caves) by the entry door.
First Floor
6. The original granite stairs lead to 2 en suite bedrooms of 20m² each with an office (9m²) in between with a window opening onto a small balcony over the main entrance and front door. Over the stair way is a tower reaching above the height of the main building. It has been blocked in to preserve heat currently, but there is a splendid masterpiece of carpentry to be revealed in the future.
Second Floor
7. A custom-made oak staircase to the second floor which is currently an open area of 75m² showing exposed beams. There is a small shower room and toilet attached and a small door giving access to the outside of the tower. The second floor does not have under floor heating.
Gite Accommodation
8. PRINCIPAL GITE to accommodate 2-6 people
This is a separate wing of the main house having under floor heating and comprising of:-
· Separate entrance to kitchen 12m²,
· salon/second bedroom approx. 27m²,
· downstairs corridor bathroom 8m²,
· custom-made oak staircase to
· principal bedroom 18m²,
· adjoining bathroom 6m²,
· mezzanine bedroom (to be finished) over bathroom 9m²
All of the above has the benefit of a central vacuum system.
Underneath the main house salon there is the “sous sol” accommodation comprising:-
9. Large Gite for 6-8 people consisting of:-
Separate front door leading to 2 adjoining large rooms each of approx. 28m² with a small kitchen of 10m² and a small toilet/shower.
There is also access via the stairs leading down from the main house entrance.
10. Small gite for 2/3 people (studio apartment) consists of:-
Separate front door leading to 1 room approx. 14m² with kitchen facilities at the end, and a shower room/WC.
Underneath the main kitchen is a large workshop/store room of 30m² with plumbing for a washing machine.
Underneath the luxury gite is the boiler room of about 40m² with a wood burning DE Dietrich boiler which heats a 1000L water storage tank which services the underfloor heating system throughout all the property (except the attic on the top floor), and the radiators in the sous sol apartments, and also provides the domestic hot water.
There are also solar panels to produce the domestic hot water in the summer. There is a 10m² cellar by the side of the boiler room.
This boiler room contains an ancient “four à pain” or bread oven.
11. GITE 4
Standing separately from the main house there is a 75m² “bergerie” (shepherds accommodation) which has 3 bedrooms, a kitchen/dining room, a bathroom and a toilet. There is a wood burning stove for the heating and the kitchen cooker uses bottled gas. Domestic hot water is heated electrically. The current owners live here while renovations continue.
Attached behind the bergerie is a small two storied pigeonniere.
There is also a stone built barn approx. 250m² with a basement.
There are two small but productive vegetable gardens.