Bosc-le-Hard, Upper Normandy, Address available on request

A 19th-century house with a walled garden that covers over 2,600m² in a vibrant village in France's Pays de Bray province, around 150 kilometres from Paris. The property lies near the market square around which the village has built its long story. The grand dwelling towers in the village centre, standing out from its neighbours, yet it blends into its surrounding environment well. The architecture around it is typically Norman in style, but this does not clash with the property. An age-old magnolia stands in front of the house. On the street side, a thuja hedge marks the property's entrance. This hedge, which adjoins a fine metal gate, does not conceal the vistas that the dwelling enjoys from its position, set well back from the entrance. The elevations of the majestic house are pure white in colour and this bright tone is brought out by the greenish hue of its guardrails. The pink blooms of hydrangeas adorn the facade's base course in the summer.

The dwelling dates back to the time of the French king Louis-Philippe I. The first stone was laid in 1839 on land that was formerly a marquisate. Republicans seized the estates of nobles during the French Revolution. Later, in 1825, a law was enacted to compensate nobles who were impacted by this land grab and who had felt forced to flee France during that turbulent period but who had since returned. Yet despite these indemnities, many impoverished nobles were compelled to sell their land. On such estates, the new upper middle classes then started building grand homes, or 'little chateaux', like this dwelling. Construction of this house finished in 1846 and the property was handed over as a splendid edifice with a mansard roof, designed in a Louis Xv style. The house is built of brick and rendered with a mortar of lime and plaster. It is designed in the so-called Pompadour style of the century before it: the dwelling follows the main architectural and stylistic principles of this trend.

The edifice offers a floor area of around 300m² and stands at the front of its plot. It hides a vast garden behind it: a lawn dotted with trees and enclosed with high walls. Garages, an outbuilding, and a vegetable patch edged with brickwork complete the property. At the back of the plot, a fence demarcates the property.