This is a town house in Chinon, a mostly
medieval town in the
Loire Valley which has recently been classed as Patrimony of the Human Race by
UNESCO.
The main part of the house, which is classified as a Historic Monument by the
French government, was built in the 16th century. The hinder parts are 14th and 15th centu
ry
at latest. It is mentioned in all the guide books, and
frequently pictured in magazines and books on the region.
Its outdoor part consists of two completely enclosed courtyards, one just
above street level with a covered arcade on the east side, another at
second floor level with a little courtyard off it; and two terraced
gardens
that start at the third-and-a-half floor level and go up to the
foot of
the
Plantagenet (10th-15th century) château that presides over the town. Off
the top one is a small chapel in the rock with strange religious designs
created in cement on the floor by a mad curé in the late 19th century.
There is an extensive view up and down the valley of the Vienne, a
confluent of the Loire.
The 16th
century (Francis I) wing, on the west side
of the downstairs courtyard,
consists of, one above the other, a large basement with a small vaulted wine cellar (in the medieval latrine outfall) off it, and three large(c.622
ft²) rooms
with
beamed ceilings, mullioned oak windows (one a
carved dormer) with inside shutters, two with tiled floors and one with oak
parquet; downstairs there is also an inlay of six yard² panels of
350-year-old Versailles parquet. The third floor room has a bathroom
(claw-footed bathtub, w.c., wash basin) and the ground floor one has a
powder room: w.c., period column wash basin, bidet; it also has a gas log
fire in the stone fireplace. The second floor room has a black marble
working fireplace, and on the streetside corner, an architecturally
remarkable little tower (called an "échauguette") with
stained glass windows.
On the north side of the downstairs courtyard there is a three-floor 17th
century section, including a stone-paved "garden room" with a
well on the
ground floor, a small apartment with two bedrooms, one over the courtyard
arcades, kitchen, and living room with a working stone fireplace on the
second floor, and a small guest room with its own bathroom (shower, w.c.,
wash basin) in the attic.
On the west side of the second courtyard, there is another large guest
room
with bathroom (shower, w.c., wash basin), a storage space with a medieval
bread oven next to it, and above them, another small 2 1/2-room
apartmentwith bathroom (shower, w.c., wash basin) and working fireplace, with an attic above that. On the north side of that courtyard is a circular
staircase leading to the gardens, and a half-timbered loggia; off the
little courtyard behind it is a 2 1/2-room apartment, with an attic above
it.
This house is no longer for sale, but its friends would like to look at
these pictures from time to time, and welcome you, too.
home
Paintings III
Searc