Welcome to our world…..
Every old house has a story.
Ours has several.
Set among the rolling hills of Périgord Vert, just beyond the lively village of Verteillac, the estate has been part of this landscape for centuries. Local tradition tells of a marriage between the Princesse de Briançon and the Sieur de Verteillac in the C14th, from which the hamlet is said to have taken its name. It is also believed that a medieval castle once stood where the Maison de Maître now sits. By the early C19th, the old stronghold had given way to an elegant gentilhommière, while a mill which produced the rich walnut oil for which the Périgord has long been famous was built over the stream that still runs beside the house (now a japanese garden). The estate also had its own chapel, where pilgrims travelling the ancient route to Santiago de Compostela would stop to rest, pray and receive alms before continuing their journey south.
Abandoned in the 1960s, the property stood empty for decades, until Katie Elliott Armitage and her husband, Mike, undertook a complete restoration of both the Maison de Maître and it’s sister barn, L’Espace, which houses the magnificent studio and more accommodation and situated about 100m up the hill. Their aim was never to erase the property’s colourful past, but to uncover it, preserving its character using local materials, celebrating its history and thereby offering it a new life..
Whatever the truth of the old stories, the house has watched over this corner of the Dordogne for hundreds of years, and now invites others to become part of its continuing story.
Choose from a range of standard and superior quality accommodation, meals made from delicious, seasonal ingredients served with recommended wines, and a gloriously safe environment where you’ll be free to shed the stresses of everyday life and concentrate on discovering (or re-discovering) your creativity - a highly enriching opportunity to learn new skills, make memories and form friendships that will last a lifetime.
food and drink…….
