CHAMPSECRET, La Basse Normandie, Address available on request

A 19th-century manor inspired by the Italian Renaissance with almost two hectares of grounds dotted with remarkable trees, tucked away in Normandy. You reach the property from one of the village roads. It is tucked away in undulating landscape where it looks out at Andaines forest. This road runs through enclosed, tree-dotted grounds up to a wrought-iron gate that marks an old entrance. On one side, a lane leads to the village and the main entrance. There is a first building: an old stable and cart shelter. And at the end of a driveway, a manor stands in a commanding position. A courtyard lies in front of it. The manor's central section has a turret on one side. This turret houses the main staircase. Alongside a stone wall behind the house, there is a raised vegetable patch and a large storehouse. The manor was built in 1850, based on a square plan with a total floor area of 300m². Its style was inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Construction of the house was ordered by a rich mining industrialist. The main section's facade displays perfect symmetry. It is divided into even bays. Its brickwork and dressed stone give it two tones. The house has a ground floor, a first floor and a second floor in the roof space. It also has a basement. The dwelling is crowned with a hipped roof with tall stone chimney stacks and stone dormer windows. There are two bull's-eye windows at the front. The facade has five rectangular windows: two on the ground floor and three on the first floor. One has a wrought-iron balcony upon stone corbels. On the east side, there are eight windows. Each one is capped with a pediment of dressed stone adorned with carved mascarons, flowers and fruits. A bartizan turret adjoins one of the elevations.