Who wants to buy this Art Deco station?
In 2007, the building located at the end of a long alley, a short distance from the village, was included in the list of Historical Monuments. The previous owner bought it in 1996, but it had been razed for three years due to lack of habitation. It didn’t help the overall situation.
pottery letters
After a “two-year camp” on the site, on the first floor (100 m²), which is the station master’s official apartment, Elizabeth takes the second floor and its 70 m². It is accessed by a single grand staircase leading to all floors. You can see the Rétaud church from the window. “We have a visibility of at least 5 km. At this time, a train to Royan passes under the windows. “We don’t have time to see that,” smiles the sixty-year-old. Effectively.
If there are no vestiges of the past such as ticket offices or signs inside the station, the words “Varzay” or “State Railways” can be read in green pottery letters on an arrow background. , in the purest Art Deco style. “This place has a soul,” said Elizabeth, who for various personal reasons could not provide it as she wished.
The building is located southwest of Saintes. The building with a total area of 280 m² benefits from an area of 5000 m².
Xavier Léoty / “Southwest”
Need work
From the end of 2022, the Stéphane Plaza real estate agency in Saintes is responsible for finding a buyer. “We’ve had a lot of calls from people who live far away from here, which is a good thing with interest,” says branch manager Julien Busuttil. It is also necessary to plan a large budget for the work to be done. The station requires a complete overhaul, and considering the scale of the project, the amount of the note will not be small. “I’d like someone to fall in love like I did sixteen years ago,” hopes the sixty-year-old.
For a while, he dreamed of turning the hall (total 110 m²), which could not be divided into several rooms, into a teahouse. “We have no place in this spirit in Varzai. It will be without it, but maybe the future buyer will imagine something as amazing as this building.
-
“Varzay” is written in green letters on the side facades and above the quay.XAVIER LEOTY
-
The station hall has an area of more than 100 m2.Xavier Léoty / “South West”
-
It is forbidden to change the structure of the hall.Xavier Léoty / “South West”
-
A cellar used to store coal.Xavier Léoty / “South West”
-
A single staircase leads to both floors.Xavier Léoty / “South West”
Five other stations
Asnières-la-Giraud station, near Saint-Jean-d’Angely, was bought by a private individual with a passion for railway heritage and renovated to make it his main residence. The next, Saint-Hilaire-de-Villefranche, was bought by the community of Vals de Saintonge and entrusted to the Société d’économie mixte immobilière de Saintonge (Semis), which managed three modest tenements there. Just before Saintes, we come across Dohute, which today belongs to Butagaz and is located within the perimeter of its Seveso-category factory. It is empty.
Continuing on, we pass through Saintes, Varzais to reach Pisany. “In 2021, we relaunched the sale to turn it into a ballroom, but SNCF Réseau no longer wanted to sell,” says mayor Pierre Tual on January 23. Finally, Saint-Romain-de-Benet has been the home of the Emmaus community since 2010. This is the same station that tricked Elizabeth sixteen years ago.
Six twin stations between Saint-Jean-d’Angély and Saujon: Asnières-la-Giraud, Saint-Hilaire-de-Villefranche, Le Douhet, Varzay, Pisany and Saint-Romain-de-Benet.
“Southwest” infographic
A little history
In 1900, the railway project between Saint-Jean-d’Angély and Saujon (Charente-Maritime) was born, about 50 km. It was decided to create six stations between these two services. They will all be the same from north to south: Asnières-la-Giraud, Saint-Hilaire-de-Villefranche, Le Douhet, Varzay, Pisany and Saint-Romain-de-Benet. It is a Toulouse architect, but Paris-based Pierre Esquié (1853-1933) would become a designer at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century.e century In our region, we owe him especially the establishment of the resort in 1895 and the Dax casino (destroyed by fire in July 1926). Charente-Maritime, it is also the father of the stations of Rochefort (1909-1911) and La Rochelle ville (1909-1922), which have just celebrated their centenary.
