I used to own this lovely stone barn, it came as just one of the impressive buildings that accompanied a rather grand farmhouse I bought when I first moved to France in 1972; aged 25.
It had not been touched since it was built in 1860-ish. Everything was original, and all the old carved wooden cow stalls were still there in perfect condition. The interior roof timbers were magnificent.
We now live about 300 metres away, so I pass by almost daily on my walks with the dog.
Amazingly, during all those years that I owned the barn (and since) I'd never noticed this L shaped stone built into the back wall. It must be the corner of an old broken water trough, or a sink maybe. I think one of the original builders must have been feeling 'frugal'.
Since I've noticed it, it now sticks out like a sore thumb, and I can no longer pass by without admiring it and smiling.
Incidentally, life is so much more pleasant in our present, much smaller, bijou cottage, but I do wish I could have brought this wonderful old barn with me; it's about 4 times the size of the cottage.
19 comments:
It certainly is a magnificent building.
It has very much a French roof.
Is it still used as a barn I wonder - if it was in England it would have been converted to a dwelling by now. I love that L-shaped piece of stone - definitely a 'waste not, want not' .
It's still just a barn, but with no animals. The last time it had animals was when it housed our free-range chickens.... finding eggs was a nightmare, but finding a clutch of tiny chicks was wonderful.
How interesting. It's certainly a lovely old building and would have made a wonderful home.
Yes in the UK it would be a conversion by now. It would make a lovely home. It's a beautiful building and I too like the L shaped stone.
Interesting stone Cro and I think you are probably right about its origins.
Re the larger barn - whenever I look through houses for sale I am always attracted to small, cosy cottages and never to grand houses, so I think I would prefer where you are now.
If I owned that barn it would be full of classic cars gathering dust waiting to be restored- A cottage would be fine for me no matter how bijou (my cottage here is pretty small) so long as it had enough space for a bed, to wash, to cook and my tools.
Apparently there still are abandoned French barns filled with old Ferraris and Bugattis..... I'm still looking.
It looks like it could still be standing 150 years from now.
I always wonder hwo those buildings survive so many years. they are beautiful.
You just don't find old barns like that in the states. They were mostly made from wood and now fallen apart, though people do buy up the barns for the old wood.
A beautiful building. Using that piece of stonework just made it that much more interesting.
beautiful. The barn chez moi is an old wooden one and serves now as a garage. the loft is largely empty; I keep some of the boat stuff there.
beautiful building and the stone has it's own beauty. I wonder how old it is.
Were you on a work to rule today?
I'd been mirroring some of P's work..... dealing with uncooperative exterior plumbing (if that makes sense).
Yes. Got the rods out no doubt.
What a gorgeous barn! just amazing.
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