What a gem! Are you *sure* you can't make it into a cottage? ;-) Those
lovely old oak (?) lintels above doors and windows make my mouth water.
It
is just gorgeous and yes, I can see rampant vegetation is called for to
create your bower! ;-) Do you have to take the roof off for safety's
sake
or is that too dangerous in itself?


--
Sacha

It certainly has some good points, re the oak lintels and some really heavy
oak beams in parts of the inside. We made enquiries with the local authority
and in principle they have no objections to converting it into one or more
habitable properties. It is just a question of cost versus return. It would
be cheaper to demolish it and rebuild modern houses on the land, though
modern houses lack the character. If the property was situated anywhere in
the UK it would be worth a fair amount and perhaps worth the cost of
renovating. However, here in France with the lower property prices the value
of such a renovated building would be less than the expenditure restoring
it. Though the market could change in the future.

David.