There is an immense quiet here, 500 metres above sea level in what is almost the dead centre of France. Small, bright green fields adorned with orange-brown Limousin cows are surrounded by thick, impenetrable forest. The only sounds are of gurgling streams and birdsong, with the occasional bark of a dog.
But 60 years ago, a local manor house in a small hamlet was burnt down by retreating German forces who suspected the French Resistance of hiding in it. It remained a burnt-out shell until Denise Daniel and Doug Ibbs spotted it for sale on the internet in 2003. “We were looking for a place in England,” Doug recalls. “We’d just done up a house in Dorset, and I was travelling an hour and a quarter-plus to work, so the idea was to take on another project closer to work.
” But the couple saw the house on the web almost the day it was put on, a Tuesday. “By Thursday, we were on our way to France.” By Sunday, they had bought it for £36,000.
Denise and Doug met six years ago at their local pub in Dorset. They are both 54, but seem to have the sparkle of twentysomething newlyweds. This is an energy they have needed to possess in abundance for what is an enormous project.
The house, set in 1.6 acres near the town of Bourganeuf, is a 19th-century manoir bourgeois — a three-storey gentleman’s country residence, made up of blocks of the local pale granite. A cellar occupies the entire footprint of the building and its main section is divided into three — a hallway about 3m wide, containing the staircase, and two wings, each about 5m wide.
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The couple admit that their project in Dorset was a makeover, rather than a restoration. Doug says the French property was “pretty terrifying when we first came out and saw it, because the photographs don’t do the place justice from the size point of view”.
But Denise recalls Doug saying that it was not too large. “He said it was just about small enough to manage.” Considering the state that the place was in, this was a fairly optimistic conclusion. It had walls, but the beams within were mostly rotten, the roof had gone, it was structurally unsound and the site was entirely overgrown.
The plan was not only to turn it into a home, but also to run a small chambre d’hôte (B&B) of six rooms to rent. The couple decided to project-manage the rebuild and do much of the construction work. They had the good sense to break this down and, as Denise says, “When we took it on, we said it’s not one big job, it’s lots of little jobs.”
Getting planning permission was straightforward. “We went to the architect,” Doug says, “and he drew the plans. We ticked all the boxes. We submitted it. The builders started work, and about three months later we got our planning permission. As long as the plans look all right, and the boxes are ticked, then apparently there is no problem with you starting work.”
But their vision has not remained the same since the outset of the project. “As you start to live with the house, you start to learn about it,” says Doug. They have also been influenced by speaking to neighbours, who knew the property before the war, and the family that previously owned it, giving them an insight into its heritage.
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When the couple decided to buy the house, they worked out a detailed budget for the rebuild of £140,000. They began by clearing overgrowing vegetation, then stabilised its structure. The house was built by one of the famous stonemasons of La Creuse, and in the main stayed remarkably stable. Some walls had come down, though.
Inside, structural damage caused by the wartime fire needed repair. Denise and Doug recruited a local stonemason, Jean-Claude Ruchaud, who began by reinforcing and rebuilding walls. Once the top stones were in place, Ruchaud pinioned the two side walls together with a ring beam and concrete platform at the top of the building, from where the roof could be constructed. He also sprayed the interior walls with concrete, effectively creating a concrete skeleton for the entire building.
Denise and Doug did not want to use too many ecologically unsound materials. “But if you’ve got a structural problem in France, the general solution is to throw concrete at it,” says Doug. They felt this was acceptable not only because they did not know of a viable alternative solution, but also because the outside granite walls were being repointed with lime mortar. “We are recycling a whole house,” Denise adds, “and that is surely environmentally friendly.”
Work could not start properly inside until the building had some sort waterproofing by way of a roof. Their builder, Monsieur Grizon, installed the wooden frame to hold the dark-grey slates that Denise and Doug sourced from China, but then came a huge delay: Chinese earthquakes and other factors meant that the slates were late. Grizon and his men went to another job, but the couple started repointing the exterior stonework, until sub-zero conditions made this impossible. They decided instead to temporarily cover the roof frame and concentrate on removing charred or rotting beams inside, replacing them with ones made of northern pine, sourced in France.
Their attitude was to learn as they went along — and have a laugh. “We had both been doing fairly intensive jobs,” Doug says. “I was driving 40,000 miles a year, and Denise about the same. Just to get up in the morning, start work, have a cup of tea and chat is amazing.” But building sites can be dangerous, particularly when you are putting in beams where there are no floors and a daunting drop below. Doug fell and was fortunate to land safely. But it was a scare.
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All this time, Denise and Doug lived in a small wooden cabin on the plot. It didn’t have a bath or shower, and at Christmas they looked forward to going to a hotel, so that they could have a bath. The couple have found everybody friendly. The fact that they try to speak French as much as possible makes a big difference.
Doug and Denise gave up on the Chinese slates and sourced others from Britain. The house began to take shape. This was especially noticeable when the windows were installed in March, delineating its form with more clarity than previously seen. It began to look habitable — and it almost was.
They have had two very good contractors on site — the builder and stonemason — but were it not for Denise and Doug’s determination, this property would never have been built. “It is the most fun I’ve ever had,” says Denise. “We laugh all the time. We love it.” And they also seem to love being with one another, essential if you are going to spend all day on a building site together. The house is not finished, but the building they have now is a stunning transformation from the ivy-covered ruin they purchased.
Next week: Self-build in Malaga.
Grand Designs Abroad is available at the Books First price of £16 plus £2.25 p&p on 0870 1658 585
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French leave
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