Agen, Aquitaine 47000

The old home of a 'bailli' with a guesthouse and pool, beside a 13th-century Benedictine Abbey in a historical town above the banks of the River Lot. This residence stands in the middle of the old town, adjoining a Benedictine Abbey, steeped in history. A medieval street leads to the house's wooden entrance gates. The outside wall is constructed from half-timbering with small brick masonry filler. The window overlooking the street features modest wooden mullions, but those of the windows on the south facade, hidden from the street, are made of stone wealth always being concealed on the inside in the land of the Huguenots. The gates open into a little paved courtyard separating the two wings of the house. The Abbey wall facing the entrance supports a covered area that leads to the garden. Closed by a wicket gate, said garden is dominated by the nave of the Abbey, together with its stained glass lancet windows, and is surrounded by a thick boxwood hedge which also screens the swimming pool. Another wicket gate leads to the large house's second terraced garden, providing a splendid view over the Lot Valley as far as the hills in the Serre area. The land slopes steeply down to the river.