Templar exemplar Y


ou’ve got to hand it to the Knights Templar. They have staying power. It’s getting


on for a millennium since the military order was established to protect Christian pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem in the turbulent era of the Crusades. It’s 700 years since they were disbanded in bloody and mysterious fashion. Yet here we are today still lapping up films and books about them – the Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones spring to mind – and looking longingly at the real estate they left behind. This beautiful complex


in Dordogne is one of the hundreds of regional centres – known as ‘commanderies’ – the Knights Templar built across Europe and the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. The international network made them one of the wealthiest organisations in Western


Christendom and arguably the world’s first multinational corporation, despite the image they cultivated as ‘Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ’. Dating back to the 12th


century and featuring the oldest dovecote (pigeonnier) in Dordogne as well as an original crypt, the commanderie stands tall on a terraced south-facing hillside that slopes down to a stream. The collection of buildings is just as commanding today as it must have been at its foundation in 1139. Yet its hamlet setting in 7.5ha of grounds and woodland five minutes’ drive from the outskirts of department capital Périgueux means you could easily miss it. The possibilities here are


plentiful: gîte complex, luxury B&B, artisan workshops, equestrian centre, fabulous multigenerational home – you could do it all here.


18 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: November/December 2023


French


An historic Knights Templar complex featuring the oldest dovecote in Dordogne is the Holy Grail for Ruth Wood


There are three main houses,


offering nine bedrooms in total, all renovated with style using quality materials. The largest house has four bedrooms (including a vast master suite with dressing room), two sitting rooms and a generous country kitchen with fireplace as well as two utility rooms. The second house, known as ‘le pavillon’, has three bedrooms, while the third house, an old tenant farmhouse, known as ‘la métairie’, has two bedrooms. Classic car fans and DIY


enthusiasts will be delighted by the outbuildings, which include a 250m2


barn that could be used


as a huge garage, workshop or gîte conversion, subject to permission. The 10x5m pool with its smart surround is another showstopper. But what makes this property unique is the pigeonnier and crypt (beneath what was once a chapel), both close to 1,000


property dreams


years old. With such historic treasures on site, you might be relieved to hear that the commanderie has a new oil- fired boiler, fibre optics, mains drainage, water softener and a new water heater. There are more historic


treasures down the road in Périgueux, where the domed cathedral of St-Front gives the city its distinctive skyline. The main tourist attraction is the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum, which houses the vestiges of Périgueux’s ancient roots. Even the Knights Templar would have considered this an ancient site! I wonder what they would make of the city today. With their passion for banking and finance, I’m guessing you’d find them on the golf course. ■


On the market for €1.3m with Leggett Immobilier leggettfrance.com


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