Château Saint-Calais is the 'Petite Folie' We Need

This property is on the market for €1,990,000, listed with Belles demeures de France.

The former hunting lodge was built in the Louix XIII-style in 1663 for Jean Martel, the bailiff’s lieutenant in Évreux. 

The Normandy residence was converted into a 5-bedroom manor house in the early 18th century, and belonged to the descendants of the Martel family until 1812. 

Monument Historique classifies the building as “Chateau known as Manoir Saint-Calais,” as the property is hard to define.

Is it a chateau, a manoir or a folie? The property definitely has the allure of a country chateau, in miniature, with its Baroque architecture and charming French formal gardens.

A folie is a smaller structure designed to look grand, typically designed with no other purpose than adding extravagance to the landscape—Château Saint-Calais certainly fits the bill with its double allée of landmark lime trees planted narrower closer to the chateau, creating a forced perspective of grandness. 

The term “petite folie” in French also fittingly translates to “splurge”, and this property provides a lifestyle we’d love to indulge in. 

The property has been tastefully and professionally updated and expanded with a guest pavilion, a cottage, and the summer pavilion, restored to perfect condition, with an additional guest pavilion waiting to be restored. 

The 9-bedroom, 8-bathroom  property offers a total of 6781 square feet of interior space, set in a walled 4.44 acre estate. 

With its French formal gardens, period vegetable garden, and woodland setting, the property is truly a pastoral paradise.

All photos belong to the listing agency.