This summer has, again, been a hot, sunny and busy one! Not only did we at Maxwell-Baynes Real Estate take advantage of the beautiful weather to film some of our exclusive properties for sale (see more below) but so did “A Place in the Sun” – the popular UK Channel 4 series which follows house-hunters in their search for their perfect property.
Each programme in the series features a ‘hot property’ – the term the TV series uses to describe a property at the top end of the market, along with activities to do in the chosen area.
‘A Place in the Sun’ ‘Hot Property’
They selected Maxwell-Baynes’ Chateau Aiguevive at Cénac -et-Saint Julien, near Sarlat, listed by Kirsten Pollard, for its beautifully classic, symmetrical 18th century design, its impeccable condition, and for its particular points of interest in the context of the Dordogne region.
For example, Lucien de Maleville, the famous Perigordian post-impressionist painter and chronicler of listed historical monuments of the region – with a repertory of ink drawings – owned the property from 1920 to his death in 1964, and produced much of his most significant works in his studio at the property.
The current owners have three of his paintings at the property, one of which is a painting of the house, given by the painter’s son, from whom they bought the property in 1988. The Périgord (the Sarlat area of the Dordogne) was his most significant source of inspiration for his paintings and occupies an important place amongst his works, the river Dordogne, villages and views of Sarlat featuring most prominently. He represented everyday scenes from Sarlat and the Périgord area, including the Dordogne river and caricatures of the locals. He had a gift for capturing the particular light of the region, a few examples of which you can see on this dedicated website www.luciendemaleville.org
This luxury property for sale comes with its own walnut mill
The second point of interest of the property is its walnut mill which dates from the 14th century and thus predates the house. Fully renovated by the current owners in collaboration with the Foundation of Patrimony, for its historical significance and respect of its origins, it still houses the authentic equipment used to make walnut oil in that era and the stream that powered the mill still runs through the property.
The current owners planted the 4.5ha of certified organic walnut grove with 14 different varieties of walnuts and produce around 2 tonnes of walnuts per year, which is now sold to the local co-operative, but previously was distilled on the site. Walnut oil is revered for its nutritional qualities, containing essential acid fats, phosphorous, potassium, vitamin B, zinc and copper. In the 13th Century it was a resource as precious as gold and was commercialised via the Dordogne river to Bordeaux, where it was exported to Holland, England and Germany. It was also used for oil lamps and cosmetics and was considered a symbol of abundance, fertility and longevity.
The “A Place in the Sun” film crew turned up on a baking hot afternoon on the 31st July under the direction of Ben Schaffer, with the cameraman and sound technician as well as popular “Place in The Sun” presenter Ben Hillman. The agent for the property, Kirsten Pollard, presented the ‘Hot property’ to Ben Hillman, who was very impressed and said that it was his ideal kind of house that he would love to buy for himself, being beautifully renovated and just the right size, as well as being in a great location.
It has a total of 600m2 of living space, including a large reception hall in the main house, a living room on each floor, a terrace overlooking the pool and gardens, and eight bedrooms, plus a guest house of 160m2. There is also a swimming pool and mill pond, with a fountain and boat, and a total of 7.5 hectares of land. The property is 11km from Sarlat near the villages of Cénac and Domme and is on the market for 2,120,000€. (Ref KP1010). Kirsten Pollard says of her experience:
“This is the first time I have ever presented a property for a TV programme so I was rather nervous at the thought of it, although I welcomed the opportunity to promote the property, as it is excellent exposure, being that the popular programme has now run for 20 years and has over 5 million viewers per episode! However the “A Place in the Sun” team were very friendly, easy going and professional so they immediately put me at ease, and we made it fun, so in fact I really enjoyed the experience and wouldn’t mind doing it again! It also helped that the property is particularly beautiful – one of my favourites in my portfolio, and the owners were very accommodating too, so all in all it was a very good experience.”
The programme will be aired this winter in December or January.
As we mentioned at the start of this article we have had a productive summer ourselves filming a number of our other luxury properties for sale. You can see our latest videos here.
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