In the middle
of France‘s Poitou-Charentes region lies Mouterre-sur-Blourde, a quiet, rural hamlet
with a mystery hiding in its woods: a Madonna with an unknown past.
For over a
century, she has sat between the trees, waiting within a secluded shrine for
someone to find her.
Where is she
from?
“We’ve heard
conflicting stories…” local resident Cilla West tells me. “We know it’s dated
1897.”
Cilla and her
partner, Steve Carter, moved to the hamlet in 2004, buying The Logis de Roche,
an old seven-bedroom mansion. Believed to have been built before the enigmatic
forest-clad figurine, the manor estate once included three neighbouring farms,
all of which have since been sold off.
Now, the
impressive building stands on a still-daunting 10 acres of park and woodland
with old gates walling the front garden. Over the years, it has been everything
from a holiday home to a bed and breakfast, boasting space for tennis courts,
gardens, a swimming pool and horse stables. It was even a lifeline for locals
in WWII, when one of the barns was used to feed the villagers with its large
bread oven.
But in 2012,
Cilla admits, the Madonna of the trees still remains a mystery.
“For many
years in the 19th Century, this was the holiday home for a wealthy
Parisian family,” Cilla explains, walking me down an impressive corridor that
seems to run the full length of the house. “They only used the downstairs,” she
adds, pointing out the original tiles that cover the ground floor – a throwback
to a grander time, when marble surrounds and elegant plasterwork once filled
the property. Upstairs, the floors are now all varnished wood after the
extensive renovation that’s been carried out in the last eight years.
We pause in one
of the grand reception rooms. After hearing about the home’s history in such
detail, I find it hard to believe there’s no clue to the statue’s identity
anywhere in the building.
“We do have
15 or so hand-written ledgers, which cover the estate records all the way back
to the early 20th century,” she reveals, “but we’ve never found the time to
translate them. We’re sure they’d throw an interesting light on the whole mystery.”
Cilla takes
us back down through the private quarters, past one of four bathrooms and into
the kitchen. What about village rumours? Someone must have a clue.
“One story we
heard was that it was a shrine visited by pilgrims on their way to Lourdes,”
she says. “The other local legend is that it was built by one of the old
Parisian family members to commemorate the death of his brother at war.”
I suggest we
walk to look at the statue ourselves. Which story does she believe?
“I’m not
sure, but it’s an interesting feature of the house!” she laughs.
She’s right:
it’s not every day that a home comes with its own mysterious work of art in the
backyard. Let alone seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and 10 acres of land.
“It’s a
property that lets you realise your dreams,” Cilla promises me. What she doesn’t say is that whoever
capitalizes on the property’s investment potential, Madonna will continue to
sit in the forest outside, still waiting to be found.
Discover the
Madonna of the trees for yourself for ââ¬720,000.
Click here to see the full property listing.
