Château Bussière, France Real Estate for sale by
owner, is an exceptional property in Touraine, tucked away in a hidden valley off the beaten track.
Its name comes from the "Marquis de Bussière" of the Maussabré family
who lived there for four centuries, up until 1936. "Maussabré" was the name of an ancestor, a knight who
was mutilated during the crusades and whose companions then called "le mal sabré" (badly hacked with a sabre)
which later became Maussabré. The castle was first mentioned in 1234, probable date of its construction, in the archives
of the city of Tours. Refurbished during the Renaissance, its decorative elements reveal the magnificence of the period, as
shown, for instance, in the exceptional bands containing the medallions.
The slate roof is in perfect condition and has been regularly checked and repaired in true traditional
manner. It also contains handsome architectural elements, typical of the Renaissance. The castle still has many traces of
the 13th century.One can imagine the battles against the Sarrasins in the two defence towers, the machiolations and the rampart
walks, with encorbelled brattices and murder holes.
The
property consists of thirty hectares (roughly 70 acres) of cleared woods and fields all around the buildings.
The Château is situated in the southern part of the Touraine area,
250 kms from Paris via the A10 motorway. The closest station is Tours St Pierre des Corps which is one hour away from Paris
on the express TGV train, and 55mins from Roissy airport. It is one hour away from both Poitiers and Tours Nord airports (with
a direct Tours to London flight). The closest town is 5kms away and has an International school.
The main building has two round towers on either side, originating from the 15th century. Galleries
run from one to the other on two floors and with three arches; there is a magnificent spiral staircase dating from the 14th
century leading past the murder holes from where the archers shot arrows with their crossbows.
In the East wing, the oldest one, there is now an office with a window which formerly used
to be the entrance via a port cullis.
The ground floor has
a superb gallery with seven arches on one side and on the other, a series of reception rooms. The floors are covered with
ancient flagstones and the formal drawing room has a Versailles parquet floor with a "rose des vents" design. All
the reception rooms have Renaissance fireplaces.
In the
19th century, the chapel in which the famous French author Alfred de Vigny was christened, was transformed into a white-stone
main stairway which leads to the first floor, to the gallery that has a marble floor with various patterns "à
l'italienne" and bedrooms on one side. The four large bedrooms have kept their former characteristics, i.e. doors leading
from one room to another without having to use the gallery. The Royal suite, traditionally maintained in case the king paid
a visit, is separate, in the West wing. On the eastern side of the gallery are two bedrooms and a large suite. All the floors
are covered with elaborate 18th century tiles. The ceilings have beams and some are magnificently painted.The walls of the
whole house are covered with beautiful materials from Braquenier or P.Frey or silks made specially in Lyons for the Château.
Château Bussière dates from 12th and 13th centuries, transformed
in the 16th and 17th centuries and tastefully refurbished and decorated by J.J.Debout (a well-known French singer of the 70's).
Six main reception rooms, one of them with the Versailles parquet flooring:
a dining room, a "Chinese" sitting room (with a guest toilet in a tower), a television room and an office. A large
kitchen (part of it in a tower), a large pantry, and a hunt (sitting) room with an exit. In this room, there is a trapdoor
in the floor (hydraulically operated) leading to the 12th century cellar and underground passages. There are also stairs leading
to a two-roomed apartment with a kitchenette, shower and toilet, for the staff. In the basement, there is a boiler-room with
two huge Wissman boilers, a linen-room, toilet and exit. Water comes entirely from three wells connected to a source dating
back to the Middle Ages. On the first floor there are 5 bedrooms with 4 bathrooms and two shower-rooms, 5 toilets, and dressing-rooms.
The two bedrooms (one of them with a toilet in the tower) of the Master suite are separated by a bathroom and dressing- room.
In the West wing there are 2 bedrooms with bathrooms and toilets.
One large suite with a bedroom, sitting-room, dressing-room, shower-room, toilet and kitchenette. The bedrooms and some of
the towers have Renaissance fireplaces. The bathroom walls are tiled with hand made tiles. All the materials used for the
bedrooms are of top quality.
The attic is in perfect condition,
with the ancient frame and the towers, the machiolations, walkways and even facilities of the period!
Outside, is a 19th century building used as a garage for two cars with a comfortable 45-metre
apartment above. Stables containing two boxes are attached. Behind is the pool-house with a toilet, swimming-pool machinery
and a heated swimming-pool with palm-trees along a stone alley. Very dreamlike. There is a large stone table under the mulberry
trees where one can have meals listening to the fountain playing and drinking icy water straight from the source! The park
can be lit up at night; the huge entrance gate (surmounted with the crown of the "marquis") is opened and closed
by remote control. In the second stables (150 square metres) there are four large boxes, a hot-water shower for the horses,
a solarium, old-style tack-room and grooming quarters. The tennis-court has temporarily been converted into a 40 x 20 metre
outdoor riding school. An 18th century farm, visible from the drawing-room windows has been restored on the outside only and
has a 200 square-metre surface. At the bottom of the fields is a small lake fed by a source (discovered in the Middle Ages).
Summary of this exquisite property:
1200 square-metre
20 entirely furnished rooms (or not) giving onto two long galleries
Cellar
Linen-room and boiler room in the basement
Total habitable surface: about 800 square metres
Of
which:
7 bedrooms with bathrooms
1 suite with bathroom
Game/hunt room
Pantry
Kitchen containing
its old stove
Dining-room
Main drawing-room
Red (or Chinese) sitting room
Television or cinema room
Office
2 keepers' flats
2 sets of stables
1
large 2-car garage
1 heated swimming-pool with a pool-house
1 18th century 200 square-metre farmhouse
The entire property is in perfection condition. It is a main residence,constantly
maintained at top level standards. One can move into this Château with no more than one's personal effects, which is
extremely rare.
€3,200,000 EUR
***IMPORTANT NOTE TO BUYER*** This property is offered
for sale directly by the owner; therefore, the buyer DOES NOT pay or incur any agent fees or commissions.
(In France it is often the buyer who pays the real estate agents commission. This is usually
the rule, except within the Paris region where the seller pays the agents commission. Furthermore, agent's fees are not fixed
so differences may exist depending on the region in France. Buyer's commissions/fees may be charged at rates anywhere between
4% and 15%, although 7% is more common.)
