CASTLES IN THE AIR Philip and Patricia Hawkes have been proud custodians of a Burgundy château for more than 30 years. They explain its enduring appeal to Paul Shearer

IMAGES: JULIAN ELLIOTT

hilip and Patricia Hawkes, man and nature, developed over the have, on the occasional centuries, wraps the old stones in a sunny summer’s day, taken comforting blanket of serenity. Of to the water for a little course there were some tense Pleisurely boating in the moat at their moments as one looks back: two country home, Château de Missery. world wars, the siege of Paris, the In the winter, when the Burgundy French Revolution, the Wars of winter freezes the moat, it stops being Religion..., but there were also a boating lake but has instead been some periods of astonishing wealth. used to host an international croquet Château de Missery is an competition for the visiting guests. expression of two such periods: an These are the mild eccentricities that 18th-century residence built on the the Hawkes brought with them to vestiges of an earlier medieval castle. where, for more than 30 There’s a generous dining room years, they have enjoyed the beauty hung with portraits; a sitting room of this listed 18th-century château on which opens onto a wide terrace the edge of the Morvan park in the overlooking the moat; kitchen with north-eastern part of Burgundy about a quirky collection of coathangers; three quarters of an hour’s drive a breakfast room; a magnificent from . hallway with stone flagged floor Philip and Patricia bought and sundry other offices on the Château de Missery in 1979 and ground floor plus a collection of have used it as their family home high-ceilinged and light-filled ever since, dividing their time bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. between the moated mansion and For the couple, this was not a an apartment in Paris. mad spur-of-the-moment choice but The beautiful château has stood undisturbed in a sleepy and tranquil These pages, clockwise from left: the landscape for decades and the imposing exterior of the château; the Hawkes family; an impressive fireplace elaborate and complex ecosystem of

42 Living France October 2012 www.livingfrance.com www.livingfrance.com October 2012 Living France 43 a purchase made with considerable The château can accommodate up recounting care and expertise. Together with to 18 people at a time as long as there tales of their Patricia, Philip, who trained as a are some couples in the group sharing day while solicitor, opened up an estate agency beds and others who are happy to tucking into in Paris in 1986, having previously share a room and bathroom. Groups a delicious worked for a decade selling châteaux may be celebrating a special occasion feast and local produce; washed for Hampton’s International. or they may want to use the château down with a kir royale or prune They have been enthusiastic as a base for exploring the beautiful maison.” promoters of French patrimoine by surrounding countryside. Food- And it’s possible to have Philip selling glorious buildings all over lovers are especially well catered for and Patricia stay and help. They are France. Philip thinks that he might because the village is located in the both excellent hosts and have a be one of the oldest members of heart of Burgundy, which is a network of contacts in the area that Vieilles Maisons Françaises, an gourmet’s paradise. Lucy, now can fill the days with something association of owners and devotees that Burgundy does very well, of historic buildings, having joined “French architects had a magnificent namely eating and drinking. During in 1966. Even before that, during talent for making quite modest houses my visit, Burgundy wine-maker, his student days, Philip was wont to Bertrand Devillard, from Domaines drive around France and stare at seem very grandiose” Devillard, had been invited over to the architectural treasures that are take us through a selection of sprinkled all over the country. châtelaine, describes the experience. This page, above: wines, both reds and whites from “French architects had a “Missery is a classic French the château is set some of his wine plots in different magnificent talent for making quite château, which oozes English on beautiful grounds parts of Burgundy. modest houses seem very grandiose eccentricity. We offer groups and This page, inset: He began with an explanation of local wine-maker through symmetry and decoration families a unique and beautiful the importance and complexity of Bertrand Devillard with a result that is very joyful,” place in which to come together to Facing page, Burgundy within French wine-making: says Philip. celebrate a special occasion or clockwise from out of 550 appellation d’origine “The perfect age to buy is when merely to enjoy each other’s top left: daughter contrôlée wines in France, 100 are you are in your thirties with young company for a weekend or week- Lucy is taking over from Burgundy, he told us. A wine the reins of the children who can run around the long stay. business; the moat designated AOC guarantees a quality space and grow up to appreciate “A pianist might while away his is used for boating control of a wine both in terms of the the beauty,” adds Patricia. day filling the hall with music, while in the summer; an grape varieties from which it is made As the couple ease themselves into others sun themselves by the bassin, original staircase; and the area in which they are grown. afternoon sun retirement, they are passing on the and the rest sample Burgundy wines In Burgundy, these AOC areas include casts a glow on reins of the château to their daughter with a local vigneron. As the sun the château some of the most famous wines in the Lucy, and are opening up the château sets over the moat, all can then world: Chablis, , , to paying guests for the first time. gather around a lavish dining table, Romanée Conti and Nuits-St-Georges.

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During a stay, guests enjoy dinner made from fresh produce from the abundant walled vegetable garden and evenings will often be rounded off with some rousing round-the-table singing after dinner. “Learn our family drinking song...” says the Missery website “… try racing demon, playing a fast hand of cards with a circle of up to 10 opponents, gather round the grand piano, where the acoustics match the best concert halls, to sing and listen, dance on the lawn, play the cereal box game! Finally, fall asleep in front of a film from Lucy’s collection – all genres, all languages and all good!” It’s as if a PG Wodehouse weekend house party has landed in the middle of the French countryside. A strong rhythm develops as the day is planned over the morning croissant and coffee: some want to take in the sights including the architectural treasures “People often expect châteaux to be luxurious, not realising that they This page, above: guests enjoy dinner at were never built like that” Château de Missery FACT BOX of Vézelay, or the nearby abbeys of built like that,” says Philip. He Fontenay, and Cluny. Others want Buildings can be either classés shudders at the often unnecessary to laze in the walled garden by the monuments historiques or inscrits interior redesigns that are made in round pond and read; a third group monuments historiques signifying their the name of improvements to historic decides to organise the day’s food. national or regional architectural importance. buildings, feeling, like many others Each to their own until cocktail that minimum intervention is the way hour brings people back together, Listed status imposes responsibilities to approach the fabric of France’s keen to tell the stories of their own on the owners to preserve and maintain the rich array of historic buildings. afternoon adventures. This is life at buildings but the owners can also benefit They have shown that living in a a gentler pace and all the while the from state grants and tax benefits as well historic house is possible without swans swim serenely across the as expert supervision from Bâtiments de an army of servants to help you. moat’s surface. France and the Ministry of Culture. “One of the joys of having a Missery is an experience of style, château is the theatrical life one but not necessarily of luxury. As There are approximately 42,000 listed leads, like running a ‘ship’ except least not luxury as conceived in the buildings in France, of which about a third that it never moves,” enthuses modern, centrally heated plasma- are houses, with approximately half in Patricia. “This is the way to bring television-in-every-room sense of private hands. Overall, roughly a third are these glorious old houses back into the word. If luxury to you means a monuments classés, with two thirds fashion – not as a drain on the chilled glass of wine and some inscrits. The way the total divides through resources (which they obviously can sparkling conversation then history is that a third of the listed buildings be) but as a place to amuse, to be Château de Missery has this in are from the Middle Ages, almost half from amused, to have a good time abundance. If, however, luxury is the 16th to 18th centuries. The Eiffel Tower among beautiful things in lovely 24-hour room service with wifi in became a monument historique in 1964. Of surroundings.” every nook and cranny then the total, 6% are listed gardens. Their infectious love of French perhaps the hotels in the nearby châteaux has inspired many other towns of , Vézelay or There are 36,000 communes across buyers to take the plunge and look Avallon would suit you better. France and each one is said to have at least after similar buildings which don’t “People often describe or expect one château. reject modernity, but add to it, by châteaux to be luxurious, of course reminding us of how life used to be. LF not realising that they were never www.chateaudemissery.com

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