Elegant 18th-C Country House with Pool and Tennis Court

Elegant 18th C country house offering approximately 420 m2, with 9 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, extensive period features and beautifully preserved interiors. Set within 14 ha of wooded countryside, the estate includes substantial outbuildings, guest accommodation, heated swimming pool, tennis court, landscaped gardens and an impressive tree-lined approach.

Set in the peaceful countryside of Haut-Anjou, close to the border between Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire, this exceptional property enjoys a private rural setting approximately 3 km from the nearest village. A small town with around 3,000 inhabitants is approximately 10 km away, providing the everyday shops and services required for comfortable country living.

The historic town of Château-Gontier is just 14 km away, offering an excellent range of shops, restaurants and cultural attractions. Angers is approximately 40 km away, while the TGV station at Sablé-sur-Sarthe is around 25 km from the property, providing convenient rail connections towards Paris. Etriché-Châteauneuf TER station is approximately 15 km away.

Château-Gontier itself is particularly attractive, with a rich architectural heritage including the former 17th-century Ursuline Convent, now home to a national theatre, the Romanesque church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste with its medieval frescoes, and numerous half-timbered houses and historic mansions.

Approached by an impressive 300-metre tree-lined driveway, this beautiful estate gradually reveals itself through a series of landscaped terraces before arriving at the elegant country house, creating a wonderful sense of arrival.

The principal residence dates predominantly from the 18th century, when it was constructed as an extension to an earlier 17th-century building. A small annexe from this earlier period remains, adding further historical interest.

Built in the classical style, the house is constructed in rendered stone beneath a traditional slate roof. Its elegant position allows the building to open westwards towards a courtyard enclosed by low walls and flanked by outbuildings, while the eastern façade looks across the gardens and surrounding countryside.

Offering approximately 420 m2 of living space over three floors, the house retains a remarkable collection of original decorative features and architectural details. Terracotta floors, fine wood panelling, monumental tuffeau stone fireplaces, French-style ceilings and an elegant quarter-turn staircase have all been preserved, their beautifully aged patina contributing enormously to the character of the residence.

The ground floor is centred around a spacious entrance hall with an attractive balustrade staircase and understairs WC.

To one side is a magnificent 42.6 m2 sitting room with a monumental tuffeau stone fireplace and an impressive ceiling height of 3.08 metres. A ground-floor bedroom and bathroom provide useful accommodation for guests or family members.

The opposite side of the house offers a succession of elegant reception and service rooms. A panelled sitting room with a further tuffeau fireplace leads through to a formal dining room, also featuring a monumental fireplace, and onwards to a charming split-level sitting room. A separate service entrance, spacious kitchen, utility room, laundry room and boiler room complete the ground floor.

The first floor provides a generous hallway leading to five bedrooms, together with four bathrooms, one incorporating a WC, and a separate shower room.

The second floor provides three further bedrooms and two bathrooms with WCs, creating substantial accommodation suitable for a large family, guests or a hospitality project.

The estate is complemented by an exceptional collection of traditional outbuildings, attractively arranged around the main residence.
- A substantial southern service building incorporates former stables comprising three impressive rooms of approximately 101 m2, 88 m2 and 38 m2, together with sheds extending from either side. These generous spaces offer considerable potential for workshops, storage, equestrian use or further development, subject to the necessary permissions.
- The northern service building includes a private reception room of approximately 67 m2 and an independent annexe. The annexe provides a ground-floor living room and kitchen, bedroom and shower room, with a further bedroom, bathroom with WC and converted attic space above.
- Further buildings include a traditional barn, former pigsties attached to the house, a woodshed and an externally accessible cellar beneath the mezzanine office.
- A charming garden room with summer kitchen, created within a former barn, provides an attractive additional space for entertaining and enjoying the grounds.

Swimming Pool and Leisure Facilities
The property benefits from a superb 11 x 5 metre swimming pool, heated by a heat pump and equipped with a semi-inground filtration system. Originally installed in the 1990s, the pool has been maintained and improved over the years, with the liner notably replaced in 2021.

A former tennis court provides an additional recreational feature and, although currently in need of restoration, offers the possibility of reinstating a full-size private sporting facility.

Grounds
The estate extends to approximately 14 ha (35 acres), providing an exceptional combination of mature woodland, landscaped gardens, lawns and natural areas.

The approach to the property is particularly impressive, with the long driveway lined by mature chestnut trees creating a magnificent entrance. As the driveway progresses, the landscape opens towards the country house, which sits slightly below the approach amongst a series of beautifully arranged terraces.

In front of the courtyard and principal façade, attractive grassed parterres bordered by mature box hedging form an elegant half-moon arrangement, framing the outbuildings and creating a strong sense of symmetry.

On the garden side, carefully maintained topiary hedges define the various areas of the grounds while incorporating the swimming pool into the overall landscape.

This exceptional estate combines the elegance and authenticity of a fine Haut-Anjou country house with substantial accommodation, an impressive collection of outbuildings and extensive private grounds. Its peaceful setting, excellent accessibility and remarkable period character make it ideally suited as a prestigious family residence, country retreat, multi-generational property or hospitality venture, subject to the necessary permissions.