The estate agents describe the listing as “atypical and incredible” – a hamlet in north-east France that used to be a hub for metalworking has come on the market.
Priced at just under €2.3million, Le Beuchot comprises a former wire-drawing plant (which closed in 2006), the owner’s house, a street of workers’ cottages, two other residences, a lake covering nearly 26 hectares, and 25 hectares of adjoining farmland.
It is located near the commune of Hautevelle in Haute-Saône.
Credit: horae-transactions.fr
The estate agent, Horae-Transactions, specialises in the sale of rural properties and insists this is a “chance to buy a piece of local history.”
Some 220 people worked on the site at the height of its activity.
Credit: horae-transactions.fr
Credit: horae-transactions.fr
All the houses date from the 19th century and relate to the hamlet’s industrial past although, like the workshops, most are now abandoned and overgrown.
The history of the hamlet goes back to 1539, when there was a windmill installed on the site. This soon gave way to a blast furnace, which was built between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th.
In its heyday, the factory employed around 100 people and at its peak in 1964 produced 200 tonnes of steel per month.
Credit: horae-transactions.fr
However, the factory closed in 2006, by which point it only employed 20 people.
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According to the agent, any potential project aimed at developing the site will be considered. Ideas have included tourism initiatives, an eco village, and residences for the elderly.
