Asking price 100,000 euro plus notiers fees of approx 8%
The house is built of thick natural limestone walls - in places 4 ft thick - under a traditional terracotta roman tuile roof the house has natural charm. the house is set almost at the highest point of the village on a limestone ridge, in prehistory the land was sea bed, the rock the barns & house walls are made from contain many fossils, in places where a garden wall or old wall has fallen you can find the fossils, my boys made a collection.
local history says the house & its immediate neighbour were built by brothers who were estranged, once they jointly inherited the farm each chose to build a new house, the division line between the houses gave 1 brother the well & the brother who built my house got the original and older farmhouse which is now a ruin awaiting renovation at the end of the garden. the earliest date the houses are mentioned on paper is when 1 was sold out of the original family, this is around 200y ago so they were built long before then.
FRASANTERIE the name of the farmhouse & its road was at some time mis-spelt bye some official, & it is not a french word found in any dictionary so no one knew what it was supposed to mean, not even the french family who had owned it for years, they did say however that the farm was once famed as a producer of strawberries (fraise), but it was not until a conversation with a translator who said if the strawberry fact is true are you sure it shouldn't it be fraisanterie once this was known & by adding in the missing letter - 'i' - ...& voilla! the name means 'STRAWBERRY MAKER/PRODUCER'!! so it should be roughly translated as strawberry farm
DESCRIPTION
entering through the front door -a new extra wide UPVC double glazed door- into a large tiled hallway, with a radiator, a door leads off the hall to the office with a radiator, a door opens to the oak staircase made of oak planks with wide steps, not steep and with a gentle curve & another door to the groundfloor apartment (see more details below), the last door leads to the main lounge.
lounge - this is a bright sunny room but well protected frm the hot sun of summer, it is a large room, tiled floor, one exposed dressed stone wall with a feature stone fireplace & working woodburing stove.the 2 tall windows face south, the room has space for a huge dining table for entertaining, heating is the woodburning stove & 2 radiators, there is also a telephone point & satelite TV
kitchen / diner - this room has a large over the sink window & a half glass door giving lots of natural light, it has fitted units with tiled splash back & a fully tiled floor, there is a small dining area ideal for a snack or coffee, the half glass door leads out to the side patio & from there to the terrace & gardens so it is easy to carry out meals for the alfresco experience, from the rear of the snack area anther doors leads of to the 2nd utility /store room, this also has a tiled floor with a large window giving natural light & masses of ventilation in summer, the room has a washing machine tap & drain , in one corner of this utility room is a toilet room & we began work to make another shower room at one end of it,
the idea was the shower would be ideal for when the outside pool was put in or for when Dad has got all sweaty doing the garden/car /DIY whatever so he doesn't have to mess up the house on way to the upstairs shower rooms! a door leads from the washing machine end of the room to the smaller rear barn which we use as a garage come 'tinkering with stuff' area.
another door from the kitchen goes into 'the boiler room', as the name suggests this is where the central heating & water boiler lives, it also has a sink & power sockets to run a washing machine, you pass through the boiler room to reach the inside of the main house barn and the entrance door to the wine cellar.
2 utility rooms, both with radiators, storage & water. ( 1 the 'boiler room' 2 the wahing machine /new shower room toilet at the end of the snack area)
groundfloor apartment - entering the apartment from the main hall into its own kitchen/ dining kitchen area with small kitchen & a radiator, the window looks out to the front driveway and at the far end is a small lounge area, to the side is an arch which leads through to the double bedroom with a radiator, and an en-suite shower room the bedroom window has a lovely village view.
the whole groundfloor apartment inc the shower room was designed with help information from a disability charity, it was originally intended as a disabled friendly apartment for an elderly relative who sadly could not move over due to worsening health.
Up stairs - the original oak staircase - wide plank steps, not steep & with a gentle curve- leads to a landing corridor, on the landing is a huge built in bedding store, it is full floor to ceiling height and holds an enormous amout of stuff!
the landing leads to :-
the upstairs apartment- this is in a wing of the house which at a past time was separate from the main upstairs area, to access it you pass through a locked doorway made through a very thick stone wall, through into the self contained 2 bedroom apartment the 1st bedroom has a pair of bunkbeds so it is more suitable for younger users, at the far end is the almost new bathroom with over bath shower, basin & toilet with part tiled walls,
the 2nd bedroom is the large double master bedroom with its built-in wardrobes & radiator, this is a quiet and cool room in summer, from the midway it has a ceiling which slopes towards the far side (watch your head!) the bedroom window looks out over the side garden,
the last room in the apartment is the lounge /dining/ kitchen room with a small kitchen area to one end, dining in the middle and lounge area to the other end, radiators & upvc double glazed windows (with a double window seat) with nice views out over the village.
THE FAMILY ONLY ROOMS 2 family bedrooms, & shower room
the master bedroom is airy & cool, it has a typical french high ceiling, a tall window with a nice view, one wall is dressed stone, the door is probably original with the old style metal lift up catch &1 radiator,
the childrens bedroom - this large bedroom easily sleeps my 3 boys & still has space for a small sofa, desk & play area, they have their Tv & games whatsits there, it has built-in wardrobes,a radiator, upvc double glazed window with a nice view.
.
the family shower room - fully tiled walls & floor, the double sink vanity unit with lit mirrors & storage, plus a full wall of storage units, a large shower with glass door, a heated towel rail & separate toilet all fully tiled.
BARNS & OUTSIDE
on the back of the house are 3 BIG stone barns, vendee barns are huge!
*** the middle barn is the biggest, you could park a sail boat in there with ease, its probably about the same size as a small English village church, the smaller barns on eitherside are half its width, all the barns have doors into the house, either in use or blocked up, they all have windows & outside doors, the roof of the house & barns is 1 piece the woodwork is continuous, what all this means is in effect the house & barns are one building, when i talked to the mairee (mayor) some years ago with a view to converting the barns into gites he said he could see no obvious problems with planning,
behind the barns is an area we use as a carpark.
the house gardens are walled on 3 sides by the old house, the terrace BBQ & the wall at the rear of my neighbours buildings, the terrace was originally a 4th smaller barn, we demolished it because the roof was becoming dangerous, the original floor is nor the terrace BBQ but because the original floor & small wall are below the level of the garden we used to use an inflatable pool there with the intention to build a perminant pool there later, (planning is not needed if the pool is being built up only if being dug down) the floor is a few feet lower than the high part of the garden so only a small upward increaase in height would be needed, there is a water tap there & electricity for filters & a pump is on the otherside of the barn wall so making installation quite easy,
The house is on the edge of a traditional vendee village,
we just loved the peace & quiet but still found things to do, the village is an active one, not locked in the past & set in its ways, it has schools for ages from baby to about 11y old, a sports area, a riverside recreation park, a boules court, a community centre, a bar, a mobile shop & a church.
the river passing through the village is slow and meandering and in most places shallow, its an important site for fish spawning so water quality is carefully monitored, my sons & friends spent hours playing on rafts or inflatables near the river ford while the adults watched from the banks then they all came ashore to picnic.
the village church is historic & in the process of renovation.
the bridge over the river is the site of a *Roman era ford, it has a ancient pump & a stone feature, * from time to time Roman artifacts & burials have been found in the village & surounding area.
a village celebrity, a music conductor Mr Christy who has carefully restored his gardens to their former glory has opened his gardens to visitors, the days the gardens are open are available from the mairee,
the neighbouring village (2km away) has all the shops, banks, supermarkets, doctors, weekly market, resturants, bakers, pharmacy,post office, garage, DIY shop, florist, firestation, ambulance, taxi, funeral shop, tourist office, bus, schools for older children, swimming pool etc & 2 larger local towns are only a short drive away.
all around the village are tracks & small roads ideal for horse riding, cycling or dog walking, off through farm land some with safe river fording or areas of woodland to explore, many of the tracks lead to other pretty local villages each with its own character.
the Vendee coast is 20-30 min drive away, the beaches of the vendee coast vary greatly from wide sandy family beaches with promanade & bars, to wild surfing beaches, sailing & water sport beaches, rocky coves & tiny inlets.
some of the larger coastal towns have ports, some with marinas, some do boat trips & the famous 'vendee globe sailing race' this is an international sailing event the route is thousands of miles long across the world and the race is followed intently in local bars on TV with all the ferver of the football world cup.
DAYS OUT
in addition to the coast, the Mervent forrest lies just 20min drive to the east & in no time you are in a natural forest area alongside the **Vendee river, this is a paradise for nature lovers, walkers, climbers, cyclists & hunters too.
maps & tourist information is available so you can expolore the area or take part in sports & activities, horse riding & cycles to hire plus there are also guided walks, both day & night to show you the wonders of nature, for those into the nightsky & star gazing the light pollution is minimal & the forrest has many set up sites suitable for a good night sky spectacle.
**the vendee river has at one point a deep curve, on the curve is an artificial beach with a picnic area, BBQ, cafe, water slide & boat hire, it is especially safe for children as the river at this point has no dangerous currents or tidal pull & has the additional safety of a life guard & boat. the forest goes right up to the beach & the carpark is mere meters away.
other historic places situated along the river inc a tower once for defence nnow a tourist spot with amazing views along the river.
PLUS ......
ST Hermine, our big village neighbour, each year they hold a festival, each year a period in history is chosen, the displays, food, games music etc all reflect the chosen year, one theme was the 1960's it was a strange experience to hear tunes from the 60's that you knew but sung in French!!!
Lucon, a local town with a historic church, the old mairee house gardens has been opened to the public as a park & each year a theme is chosen for sculpture & plant displays.
Fontenay le compte, formerly the capitol of vendee, its a town with a lot of history, some of the houses are half wood with overhanging balcony they could be straight from a shakespear film,
La Roche sur Yon, now the capital of vendee (Napoleon crushed an up-rising in fontennay & made la Roche capital instead) a vibrant place, big shops, museuma, waterparks,
and right in the middle of town, surounded on all sides by the oneway system of traffic......
THE HARAS,the former cavalry barracks of La Roche, now the administative centre for horses for breeding, racing, driving, sport, not just paperwork but the horses too! the haras has breeding stallions on show, mares & foals, displays of riding, training, driving & working horses, a museum of cavalry, carrages & horse equipment, the beautifull old buildings are open to the public, with information & displays, it is a hands on place, you get to touch & interact with horses, there are carrage rides & a calender of special events inc a Christmas special a few years ago themed on Charles Dickens a Christmas carol.
PLEASE NOTE .....*** the big vendee barn roof suffered damage in the winter storms, the roof is too high to access by ladder, the opinions of several builders we got in to quote for repairs was that it would be a waste of time to reinstate the roof as was unless we wanted a barn, they advised removing the roof totally making good the walls & creating a large walled private area, possible uses - pool, sports area, secure parking. all subject to permission of course.
REASON FOR SALE
I have some serious health problems, they were diagnosed after we moved to france, they are of a degenerative nature & I am now disabled with the future prognosis of becoming more disabled, as a result all the plans we had to extend the holiday business by converting the old house & the main house barns, putting in a pool etc had to be shelved, i cannot cope with the care & maintainence of such a large house,
my relationship broke down so i am now alone, my sons help but they are of the age to leave home & my hope now is to sell up - not lose too much on the sale & buy a property that can be adapted for me.
thanks for reading, bye
The house is built of thick natural limestone walls - in places 4 ft thick - under a traditional terracotta roman tuile roof the house has natural charm. the house is set almost at the highest point of the village on a limestone ridge, in prehistory the land was sea bed, the rock the barns & house walls are made from contain many fossils, in places where a garden wall or old wall has fallen you can find the fossils, my boys made a collection.
local history says the house & its immediate neighbour were built by brothers who were estranged, once they jointly inherited the farm each chose to build a new house, the division line between the houses gave 1 brother the well & the brother who built my house got the original and older farmhouse which is now a ruin awaiting renovation at the end of the garden. the earliest date the houses are mentioned on paper is when 1 was sold out of the original family, this is around 200y ago so they were built long before then.
FRASANTERIE the name of the farmhouse & its road was at some time mis-spelt bye some official, & it is not a french word found in any dictionary so no one knew what it was supposed to mean, not even the french family who had owned it for years, they did say however that the farm was once famed as a producer of strawberries (fraise), but it was not until a conversation with a translator who said if the strawberry fact is true are you sure it shouldn't it be fraisanterie once this was known & by adding in the missing letter - 'i' - ...& voilla! the name means 'STRAWBERRY MAKER/PRODUCER'!! so it should be roughly translated as strawberry farm
DESCRIPTION
entering through the front door -a new extra wide UPVC double glazed door- into a large tiled hallway, with a radiator, a door leads off the hall to the office with a radiator, a door opens to the oak staircase made of oak planks with wide steps, not steep and with a gentle curve & another door to the groundfloor apartment (see more details below), the last door leads to the main lounge.
lounge - this is a bright sunny room but well protected frm the hot sun of summer, it is a large room, tiled floor, one exposed dressed stone wall with a feature stone fireplace & working woodburing stove.the 2 tall windows face south, the room has space for a huge dining table for entertaining, heating is the woodburning stove & 2 radiators, there is also a telephone point & satelite TV
kitchen / diner - this room has a large over the sink window & a half glass door giving lots of natural light, it has fitted units with tiled splash back & a fully tiled floor, there is a small dining area ideal for a snack or coffee, the half glass door leads out to the side patio & from there to the terrace & gardens so it is easy to carry out meals for the alfresco experience, from the rear of the snack area anther doors leads of to the 2nd utility /store room, this also has a tiled floor with a large window giving natural light & masses of ventilation in summer, the room has a washing machine tap & drain , in one corner of this utility room is a toilet room & we began work to make another shower room at one end of it,
the idea was the shower would be ideal for when the outside pool was put in or for when Dad has got all sweaty doing the garden/car /DIY whatever so he doesn't have to mess up the house on way to the upstairs shower rooms! a door leads from the washing machine end of the room to the smaller rear barn which we use as a garage come 'tinkering with stuff' area.
another door from the kitchen goes into 'the boiler room', as the name suggests this is where the central heating & water boiler lives, it also has a sink & power sockets to run a washing machine, you pass through the boiler room to reach the inside of the main house barn and the entrance door to the wine cellar.
2 utility rooms, both with radiators, storage & water. ( 1 the 'boiler room' 2 the wahing machine /new shower room toilet at the end of the snack area)
groundfloor apartment - entering the apartment from the main hall into its own kitchen/ dining kitchen area with small kitchen & a radiator, the window looks out to the front driveway and at the far end is a small lounge area, to the side is an arch which leads through to the double bedroom with a radiator, and an en-suite shower room the bedroom window has a lovely village view.
the whole groundfloor apartment inc the shower room was designed with help information from a disability charity, it was originally intended as a disabled friendly apartment for an elderly relative who sadly could not move over due to worsening health.
Up stairs - the original oak staircase - wide plank steps, not steep & with a gentle curve- leads to a landing corridor, on the landing is a huge built in bedding store, it is full floor to ceiling height and holds an enormous amout of stuff!
the landing leads to :-
the upstairs apartment- this is in a wing of the house which at a past time was separate from the main upstairs area, to access it you pass through a locked doorway made through a very thick stone wall, through into the self contained 2 bedroom apartment the 1st bedroom has a pair of bunkbeds so it is more suitable for younger users, at the far end is the almost new bathroom with over bath shower, basin & toilet with part tiled walls,
the 2nd bedroom is the large double master bedroom with its built-in wardrobes & radiator, this is a quiet and cool room in summer, from the midway it has a ceiling which slopes towards the far side (watch your head!) the bedroom window looks out over the side garden,
the last room in the apartment is the lounge /dining/ kitchen room with a small kitchen area to one end, dining in the middle and lounge area to the other end, radiators & upvc double glazed windows (with a double window seat) with nice views out over the village.
THE FAMILY ONLY ROOMS 2 family bedrooms, & shower room
the master bedroom is airy & cool, it has a typical french high ceiling, a tall window with a nice view, one wall is dressed stone, the door is probably original with the old style metal lift up catch &1 radiator,
the childrens bedroom - this large bedroom easily sleeps my 3 boys & still has space for a small sofa, desk & play area, they have their Tv & games whatsits there, it has built-in wardrobes,a radiator, upvc double glazed window with a nice view.
.
the family shower room - fully tiled walls & floor, the double sink vanity unit with lit mirrors & storage, plus a full wall of storage units, a large shower with glass door, a heated towel rail & separate toilet all fully tiled.
BARNS & OUTSIDE
on the back of the house are 3 BIG stone barns, vendee barns are huge!
*** the middle barn is the biggest, you could park a sail boat in there with ease, its probably about the same size as a small English village church, the smaller barns on eitherside are half its width, all the barns have doors into the house, either in use or blocked up, they all have windows & outside doors, the roof of the house & barns is 1 piece the woodwork is continuous, what all this means is in effect the house & barns are one building, when i talked to the mairee (mayor) some years ago with a view to converting the barns into gites he said he could see no obvious problems with planning,
behind the barns is an area we use as a carpark.
the house gardens are walled on 3 sides by the old house, the terrace BBQ & the wall at the rear of my neighbours buildings, the terrace was originally a 4th smaller barn, we demolished it because the roof was becoming dangerous, the original floor is nor the terrace BBQ but because the original floor & small wall are below the level of the garden we used to use an inflatable pool there with the intention to build a perminant pool there later, (planning is not needed if the pool is being built up only if being dug down) the floor is a few feet lower than the high part of the garden so only a small upward increaase in height would be needed, there is a water tap there & electricity for filters & a pump is on the otherside of the barn wall so making installation quite easy,
The house is on the edge of a traditional vendee village,
we just loved the peace & quiet but still found things to do, the village is an active one, not locked in the past & set in its ways, it has schools for ages from baby to about 11y old, a sports area, a riverside recreation park, a boules court, a community centre, a bar, a mobile shop & a church.
the river passing through the village is slow and meandering and in most places shallow, its an important site for fish spawning so water quality is carefully monitored, my sons & friends spent hours playing on rafts or inflatables near the river ford while the adults watched from the banks then they all came ashore to picnic.
the village church is historic & in the process of renovation.
the bridge over the river is the site of a *Roman era ford, it has a ancient pump & a stone feature, * from time to time Roman artifacts & burials have been found in the village & surounding area.
a village celebrity, a music conductor Mr Christy who has carefully restored his gardens to their former glory has opened his gardens to visitors, the days the gardens are open are available from the mairee,
the neighbouring village (2km away) has all the shops, banks, supermarkets, doctors, weekly market, resturants, bakers, pharmacy,post office, garage, DIY shop, florist, firestation, ambulance, taxi, funeral shop, tourist office, bus, schools for older children, swimming pool etc & 2 larger local towns are only a short drive away.
all around the village are tracks & small roads ideal for horse riding, cycling or dog walking, off through farm land some with safe river fording or areas of woodland to explore, many of the tracks lead to other pretty local villages each with its own character.
the Vendee coast is 20-30 min drive away, the beaches of the vendee coast vary greatly from wide sandy family beaches with promanade & bars, to wild surfing beaches, sailing & water sport beaches, rocky coves & tiny inlets.
some of the larger coastal towns have ports, some with marinas, some do boat trips & the famous 'vendee globe sailing race' this is an international sailing event the route is thousands of miles long across the world and the race is followed intently in local bars on TV with all the ferver of the football world cup.
DAYS OUT
in addition to the coast, the Mervent forrest lies just 20min drive to the east & in no time you are in a natural forest area alongside the **Vendee river, this is a paradise for nature lovers, walkers, climbers, cyclists & hunters too.
maps & tourist information is available so you can expolore the area or take part in sports & activities, horse riding & cycles to hire plus there are also guided walks, both day & night to show you the wonders of nature, for those into the nightsky & star gazing the light pollution is minimal & the forrest has many set up sites suitable for a good night sky spectacle.
**the vendee river has at one point a deep curve, on the curve is an artificial beach with a picnic area, BBQ, cafe, water slide & boat hire, it is especially safe for children as the river at this point has no dangerous currents or tidal pull & has the additional safety of a life guard & boat. the forest goes right up to the beach & the carpark is mere meters away.
other historic places situated along the river inc a tower once for defence nnow a tourist spot with amazing views along the river.
PLUS ......
ST Hermine, our big village neighbour, each year they hold a festival, each year a period in history is chosen, the displays, food, games music etc all reflect the chosen year, one theme was the 1960's it was a strange experience to hear tunes from the 60's that you knew but sung in French!!!
Lucon, a local town with a historic church, the old mairee house gardens has been opened to the public as a park & each year a theme is chosen for sculpture & plant displays.
Fontenay le compte, formerly the capitol of vendee, its a town with a lot of history, some of the houses are half wood with overhanging balcony they could be straight from a shakespear film,
La Roche sur Yon, now the capital of vendee (Napoleon crushed an up-rising in fontennay & made la Roche capital instead) a vibrant place, big shops, museuma, waterparks,
and right in the middle of town, surounded on all sides by the oneway system of traffic......
THE HARAS,the former cavalry barracks of La Roche, now the administative centre for horses for breeding, racing, driving, sport, not just paperwork but the horses too! the haras has breeding stallions on show, mares & foals, displays of riding, training, driving & working horses, a museum of cavalry, carrages & horse equipment, the beautifull old buildings are open to the public, with information & displays, it is a hands on place, you get to touch & interact with horses, there are carrage rides & a calender of special events inc a Christmas special a few years ago themed on Charles Dickens a Christmas carol.
PLEASE NOTE .....*** the big vendee barn roof suffered damage in the winter storms, the roof is too high to access by ladder, the opinions of several builders we got in to quote for repairs was that it would be a waste of time to reinstate the roof as was unless we wanted a barn, they advised removing the roof totally making good the walls & creating a large walled private area, possible uses - pool, sports area, secure parking. all subject to permission of course.
REASON FOR SALE
I have some serious health problems, they were diagnosed after we moved to france, they are of a degenerative nature & I am now disabled with the future prognosis of becoming more disabled, as a result all the plans we had to extend the holiday business by converting the old house & the main house barns, putting in a pool etc had to be shelved, i cannot cope with the care & maintainence of such a large house,
my relationship broke down so i am now alone, my sons help but they are of the age to leave home & my hope now is to sell up - not lose too much on the sale & buy a property that can be adapted for me.
thanks for reading, bye
