Elizabeth Bonner bought the estate in 2005 and the restoration work began on the château. Renovating the main house took several years, after which Elizabeth turned her attention to restoring the farmhouse, cottage and guardian's house. She oversaw the work herself, focusing on preserving original features while incorporating modern comforts and elegant touches. Each winter, the cycle of renovating and maintaining the buildings and park begins again.
If you are interested in life on the Courtomer estate, the French countryside or local history, subscribe below to receive 'Letters from Elizabeth' and other news from Courtomer. Otherwise, browse the archive to follow Elizabeth’s restoration journey and her passion for France and its culture. Simply click on the category that interests you the most.
❝ « Deauville! Que de m’as-tu vu!” exclaimed Clementine, as Michel piloted the Thunderbird along the river Touques. Deauville sits along the south back of the river, and its sister seaside colony, Trouville, a quieter, more sedate station balneaire, is on the other... ❞
Read More❝ One night, after we had been installed in our leaky, freezing château for almost a year, and had seen spring flourish, summer‘s golden gaze come and go, and autumn pass into early winter, I lay awake staring into the darkness and listening to the wind blow the rain against the windows… ❞
Read More❝ C’est la rentrée ! Autumn begins to slant the rays of morning sun, touching the stubble in the fields with gold, enriching the bright colors of garden flowers, and reddening the glossy coats of the cattle in the pastures. ❞
Read More❝ “Monsieur Xavier has been fighting me. I don’t understand why“ … ❞
Read More❝ It was so hot last week, there were pictures of the thermometer in the local newspaper. Rouen, the capital of Normandy, measured the hottest day on record – more than 100 degrees!… ❞
Read More❝ "Tout va bien au Chateau, Madame la Marquise!" was Madame Francine’s tart reply. « Everything’s fine at the Chateau, Madame the Marquise!”… ❞
Read More❝ When a provincial comes into Paris, no moment goes unmeasured and unspent. The tenderness of the morning’s light on the creamy buildings…the rosy fingers of dawn upon the grey rooftops…❞
Read More❝ “C’est les soldes!” There is a hairdresser in every woman’s life – and Cyril is mine. And like many a hairdresser, he has some of the answers to life’s questions… ❞
Read More❝ After acclaiming the newly married pair at the sortie de l’église or wherever the ceremony is held, it’s time to assemble on a lawn, under the shade of tents or tall trees. Naturally, a venue like the Chateau de Courtomer is ideal! Streaming in from the solemnities, guests are ready for cold drinks and champagne. ❞
Read More❝ Lights move back and forth across the fields behind the Chateau until the wee hours of the morning, as huge machines cut and thresh golden sheaves of ripe wheat. They start again at daybreak… ❞
Read More❝ Pascal is an anesthesiologist. But Henry didn’t even ask him if he missed his old life in Paris. Pascal was too busy trying to keep a little calf away from its mother’s udder, as he squirted the last drop from her left rear teat into the shiny stainless-steel bucket. When Henry was little, we kept a small herd of Jersey milk cows… ❞
Read More❝ It’s the Fourth of July, and a lovely day for a pique-nique! And while we wonder where to have it, we think of those immortal words, “Lafayette, we are here!”.., ❞
Read More❝ “Impossible! One cannot talk about charcuterie without mentioning the Roman Empire,” began Monsieur Roblin, looking over his spectacles with a professorial air, his tone slightly severe as befits a subject as serious as food. But his eyes were smiling… ❞
Read More❝ Her legs were long, spindly and knobbly. And like any newborn horse, she was already on them. Within a few hours, she was cantering to catch up to her mother…❞
Read More❝ “That window is off center,” scolded Monsieur Xavier, testily. We were up on the roof of the Chateau, surveying the ongoing replacement… ❞
Read More❝ Standing on the steps of the Chateau, she struck me as surprisingly small, a diminutive figure in black against the golden stones of the façade. She wore a red beret, bright as a leaf in autumn… ❞
Read More❝ “A Hoopoe couple have been nesting in the Orangerie wall for several years now,” continued Heather, having dealt firmly with Madame Francine’s cat, who has been creeping along the grass, eyeing a little bird. We are sitting outside the Farmhouse, enjoying the warm air and gentle sun of the late May morning… ❞
Read More❝ The park and fields of Chateau de Courtomer, like the countryside all around, swell with bright blossoms, greenery, and birdsong… ❞
Read More❝Autumn turned to winter, progressed to spring and summer, and returned once more before Monsieur Xavier, our faithful guardian and handyman, reluctantly agreed to consider that the Farmhouse might be habitable again.❞
Read More❝ From the moment he accepted the challenge, our guardian and homme à tout faire (handyman) Monsieur Xavier was smitten. It was as if the restoration of the Farmhouse was the renovation of his own life. He was unabashed by the prospect of turning the moldering -- indeed perilous -- structure into a livable home... ❞
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