Ideally situated between La Rochelle and Le Marais Poitevin
Ideally situated between La Rochelle and Le Marais Poitevin
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Ideally situated between La Rochelle and Le Marais Poitevin
Ideally situated between La Rochelle and Le Marais Poitevin
For more information click on the underlined text that appears as you pass over cursor over the white dots.
The garden surrounds the heated and child safety swimming pool that is open to all of our guests.
This large communal space is where you will find the swings and the ping pong table. At one end of the garden you will find the orchard and Mylène's vegetable garden.
For more information click on the underlined text that appears as you pass over cursor over the white dots.
The garden surrounds the heated and child safety swimming pool that is open to all of our guests.
This large communal space is where you will find the swings and the ping pong table. At one end of the garden you will find the orchard and Mylène's vegetable garden.
For more information click on the underlined text that appears as you pass over cursor over the white dots.
The garden surrounds the heated and child safety swimming pool that is open to all of our guests.
This large communal space is where you will find the swings and the ping pong table. At one end of the garden you will find the orchard and Mylène's vegetable garden.
We have traced Grand Courdeault as far back as the 12th Century when it was a castle. If you know what to look for you can see many signs of what the site was like back then. If you'd like more information just ask Mylène who will be more than happy to point them out to you.
She can show you where the main courtyard was situated as well as the main door into the castle. It is said that Duguesclin slept in the castle tower when he came to fight the English at Benon woods. When they were fixing up the Gîte and restoring the tower Mylène and Joseph discovered a "spy hole" which allowed people in the tower to keep watch on the track leading to the castle.
Joseph also dug out the inside of the tower to a depth of more than 2m but never managed to get to the bottom of the foundations. He did however discover a door leading to the outside of the tower - even that far down...
In 2003 on the spot where there once stood a second tower, they discovered a vaulted room underneath the courtyard of the current farm. As there are no records nobody knew that such a room existed until then.
Much later on Grand Courdeault belonged to Jean Cochon-Dupuy who had a very important role in setting up the Naval Medical School in Rochefort Rochefort medical navy school.
After the French Revolution Grand Courdeault was severely damaged by fire and became a winery as part of the Cognac region. In 1875 phylloxera ravaged the vines and the farm turned to more traditional crops and started herding cows for milk.
Joseph and Mylène arrived to take over the farm in 1969 with their 3 young children. Initially they lived in the tower (La Tour de l’ancien Château) avec leurs 3 enfants. Les conditions à l’époque étaient rudimentaires, pas de chauffage, pas de salle de bain et pas d’eau chaude à leur installation.
They quickly built a new modern house (La maison des Marronniers) and started to develop the farm. They were among the first farmers in the area to put in place an irrigation system to grow crops. For that they needed water and they hired water diviners. These same wells continue to provide water for the farm today.
Over time the farm diversified : cereal, oilseed, vegetable and cattle..
Later on their son joined them on the farm - a second generation continued to work the soil.
In 1994 Joseph and Mylène wanted to save the old stone farm buildings. They were advised that nobody would want to rent "old stone buildings" so they moved out of Les Marronniers (which became Grand Courdeault's first gîte) and into the building which is where they live today. They built everything back up from scratch careful to ensure that they respect they local traditional architecture. This project set the tone for the future gîtes and is just one of the many reasons why our many visitors enjoy their stay with us so much.
Straightaway the gîte started attracting visitors and so Mylène and Joseph kept on rehabilitating the old farm buildings. They kept true to their ethos of respecting the past whilst both modernizing and embellishing the orignal structure of the farm buildings. Today they have the 4 gîtes that you can see here.
210m2 / 12 personnes / 5 chambres
150m2 / 8-10 personnes / 4 chambres
105m2 / 6 personnes / 3 chambres
135m2 / 5 personnes / 2 chambres
210m2
12 guests
5 bedrooms
150m2
8/10 guests
4 bedrooms
105m2
6 guests
3 bedrooms
135m2
5 guests
2 bedrooms
210m2
12 guests
5 bedrooms
150m2
8/10 guests
4 bedrooms
105m2
6 guests
3 bedrooms
135m2
5 guests
2 bedrooms
Three years ago, Mylène's daughter Anne started to work alongside her mother managing the gîtes. When you ring us, you will be greeted by one or the other on the end of the line.
A little while ago one of Joseph's grandsons started working with his father on Grand Courdeault farm. Like his father and his grandfather before him he brings new projects and ways of working such as the recycling of waste products from the farm to produce gas for the local town of Surgères. With his father they are also putting in place new farming methods which help preserve the topsoil and encourage biodiversity to flourish.
Grand Courdeault - from ancient castle to modern farm and holiday destination for families and friends wishing to get together - the journey continues..
Three years ago, Mylène's daughter Anne started to work alongside her mother managing the gîtes. When you ring us, you will be greeted by one or the other on the end of the line.
A little while ago one of Joseph's grandsons started working with his father on Grand Courdeault farm. Like his father and his grandfather before him he brings new projects and ways of working such as the recycling of waste products from the farm to produce gas for the local town of Surgères. With his father they are also putting in place new farming methods which help preserve the topsoil and encourage biodiversity to flourish.
Grand Courdeault - from ancient castle to modern farm and holiday destination for families and friends wishing to get together - the journey continues..
Three years ago, Mylène's daughter Anne started to work alongside her mother managing the gîtes. When you ring us, you will be greeted by one or the other on the end of the line.
A little while ago one of Joseph's grandsons started working with his father on Grand Courdeault farm. Like his father and his grandfather before him he brings new projects and ways of working such as the recycling of waste products from the farm to produce gas for the local town of Surgères. With his father they are also putting in place new farming methods which help preserve the topsoil and encourage biodiversity to flourish.
Grand Courdeault - from ancient castle to modern farm and holiday destination for families and friends wishing to get together - the journey continues..
When you arrive at Grand Courdeault the peacocks will certainly be one of the first things you see.
They have been living here free range for over 40 years - their number multiplying over time..
They are all the offspring of a couple of peacocks that were offered to Anne by her godfather for her communion.
This is why, should you wish to bring your dog with you to Grand Courdeault, you need to ensure that you will keep it under control so that it does not attack nor worry the peacocks.
When you arrive at Grand Courdeault the peacocks will certainly be one of the first things you see.
They have been living here free range for over 40 years - their number multiplying over time..
They are all the offspring of a couple of peacocks that were offered to Anne by her godfather for her communion.
This is why, should you wish to bring your dog with you to Grand Courdeault, you need to ensure that you will keep it under control so that it does not attack nor worry the peacocks.
For more information please do not hesitate to ring us on either of the following numbers:
Fixed line telephone +33 (0)5.46.27.93.44
Mobile telephone +33 (0)6.08.65.67.94
