Falaise, Ardennes 14700

An 18th and 19th-century chateau with outbuildings on 4-hectare grounds, nestled within the Pays du Houlme region and surrounded by the wooded countryside of the Orne department. The chateau de la Motte or 'chateau of the Mound' owes its name to the presence of an ancient medieval mound, today gone, the location of which was situated near the property's northern entrance. Built over 15th-century vestiges, which are still visible today, the current chateau was mainly constructed in the 17th century, while the symbolist poet Remy de Gourmont, a precursor to the Nouveau roman, was born within the chateau's very walls a century later.Three minutes from the nearby town, a tree-lined avenue of more than 400 metres leads to the property's enclosure wall, accessible via a stately wrought-iron gate, flanked by stone pillars topped with capitals, as well as an adjacent pedestrian door. Opposite, a caretaker's cottage watches over the entrance to the property, which is then followed by the former main courtyard in front of the chateau, while a 19th-century greenhouse was built in a corner formed by the chateau, a gallery and an artist's studio. In addition, a few outbuildings surround the former courtyard and, to the north, the grounds also include a restored chapel and an agricultural storage building. Lastly, woods, a pond and a former garden surrounded by water-filled moats extend to the west of the property.