Arelaune-en-Seine, Upper Normandy 76940

A 12th-century tithe barn to be restored with an outbuilding and 5,000m² of grounds in the heart of a forest in Normandy, 45 minutes from the town of Honfleur. Set back from the main roads, a country lane runs into a forest that covers over 6,700 hectares. This lane leads to a hamlet where there was once a priory. This priory was a farming satellite of Jumièges abbey, from the 12th century up to the French Revolution. The property is a vast series of natural spaces and remnants of built heritage. The remains of the Benedictine priory are documented: a stone dwelling for monks, a cart shelter, a well, an enclosing wall and a half-timbered construction. The tithe barn was a building in which tithes - a levy for the Catholic Church - were placed and collected, most often in the form of goods. The barn stands at the edge of the plot, which covers half a hectare on the building's south side. Its huge slate roof with steep slopes has a centuries-old cathedral frame of oak. Its breeze-block walls, built in the 20th century, support and preserve the medieval timber structure, even though they do not exactly preserve the edifice's true authenticity. On the east end, a more recent annexe adjoins the barn. It could serve as a workshop or garage. This annexe also needs to be renovated.