The river house

Part 1

Weathered old posts with arms outstretched support a veranda along the eastern side of the house. The end of one beam has been so degraded by wind and rain it resembles a gargoyle’s head, staring out at the river.

The columbage walls consist of thin clay bricks set in lime mortar between ancient timbers, bleached and scoured like driftwood. More recent terracotta tiles have been laid on the floor and a metre-wide border of sand-coloured river stones separates the veranda from the lawn.

The low-pitched roof is a cluster of overlapping roman tiles, chunky and lichen-flecked.

The front door opens into a salon/lounge-room dominated by a huge open fireplace. A blackened metal plate embossed with a coat of arms, like some giant crusader’s shield, is attached to the back wall to protect the lime mortar from the heat.  On one side of the fireplace sits a wicker basket holding paper and kindling, on the other, a large copper pot with pine cones.

Massive oak girders, soil-brown in colour, run the length of the room. They protrude through the eastern wall into the veranda, while on the western side of the room they stand on two brick and mortar columns that flank the door into the garden. Adzed from giant trees in the time of the Sun King, their impressive girth supports a number of smaller, equally ancient joists, parched, split and honeycombed by borer.

The renovation of this house, in the early 2000’s, was done by an architect careful to preserve its 18^th century character. Of all the features he retained, the most impressive is the bousillage wall with its petrified planks and straw-embedded mud, cracked now like a creek bed in a drought.

The house and adjoining low barn merge into one long, single-storey building that stretches from the road to the river, a distance of about 70 metres. It sits perpendicular, not parallel, to the Lot. Its southern end is just a few metres from the water.

Library documents show La Maiterie was built around 1730. It became the home of a priest, Father Bolurrieres, a scholarly and highly-regarded man who held the positions of Curate of Castelmoron, Archdeacon of Marmande and Monclar and the Canon of the Cathedral of Agen.

Father Bourrieres was known for his generosity and compassion, a friend to the poor. Many a peasant received victuals at his door or warmed their hands in front of his winter fire.

He bequeathed La Métairie to his nephew, Antoine Negre, on condition that it would eventually be turned over to his parishioners. Mr Negre lived out his days in the house and upon the death of his last surviving child, the property reverted to the parish.

We used to cycle past the house in the autumn of 2013, whilst holidaying in Castelmoron. On the front gate hung a for sale sign with a phone number. I rang it out of curiosity.

The price was high, which I put down to its river frontage.What I didn’t know was the barn had been converted into four bedrooms, each with an en-suite.

When we returned to live in Castelmoron last year, we again cycled past Le Maiterie on a regular basis. One day we saw the owners in the front yard, so we stopped and introduced ourselves, and told them of our past interest in the house.

Over the ensuing months, we would stop our bikes at the front gate and call out to the Hanocqs. We learnt they lived near Versailles and came down to Fongrave on an irregular basis. The house, with its swimming pool and access to the river, was rented out for a tidy sum during the summer.

On one of our springtime stops at Le Maiterie, the Hanocqs invited us in for a drink. We were captivated by the house. 

We went home and said to each other, “Wow, if only we could live there.” We couldn’t afford the summer rent, so the idea was hatched to ask the Hanocqs if they would consider a winter rental.

They agreed, and so here we are.