Woolsack
House Woolsack in Quartier Woolsack in Mimizan used to be the stables of the nearby Château Woolsack, built in 1911-1912 on a vast property at the foot of the wide dunes of the Atlantic Coast.
Later it was converted into a living quarters and further renovated, but traces of the old days can be found in- and outside the buildings, such as the typical double barn doors of the former stables, the characteristic black and white coverage and the red roofs.
It is ideally situated in a rustic area just off the Atlantic coast near the village of Mimizan. Surrounded by the famous high pine trees, typical for the department of Les Landes, it is only a short distance away from the beaches of Mimizan-Plage and a few steps from the lovely and peaceful Lac d’Aureilhan. and right across the Golf course of the Mimizan Golf Club.
After a hot summer day you can smell the sweet mixture of pine and lime trees, and hear the bees buzzing as they work hard to collect pollen. Quite often you can hear the thunder of the surf of the ocean and occasionally deer calling in the night when they venture on the golf course looking for some fresh greens. Mimizan has been like our second home for many years. It is a place where we, as a family, come together to catch up, refuel, relax, laugh and enjoy the good French life of the South West of France … Cheers !
It is our pleasure to welcome you, we hope you enjoy it as much as we always do.
A bit a history;
The former stables of Château de WOOLSACK
The Château de Woolsack is a former hunting lodge located in the community of Mimizan in the department of Les Landes in the Aquitaine region of south-western France. Built in 1911 on the shores of Lake Aureilhan by Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, it is a replica of the home of Rudyard Kipling - the author of The Jungle Book, built in Cape Town, South Africa in typical South African-Neo Dutch style. Since 1978 the whole area is now registered as a site-classé, a protected area.
The Duke of Westminster
The Duke came to Landes in 1910 on the advice of his friend Rawlinson who hunted wild boar at Mimizan with Mr. Bacon. He was captivated by the beautiful scenery, as were we when we first discovered this gorgeous and unique property.
Shortly after this first visit the Duke purchased a wooded area of over 10 hectares on the banks of Lake Aureilhan to build a hunting lodge. Construction work began in 1911. The architects Detmar Blow and Fernand Billerey used plans made by Sir Herbert Baker for the property "Woolsack" in South Africa which was built by Cecil Rhodes for Rudyard Kipling, and which also inspired the name of the property in Mimizan. Interesting right?
An English quarter, quartier Anglais, was built next to the castle: a dozen bungalows, all in white and black lacquered wood. They accommodated the grooms alongside the stables. This area was also occupied by the staff who organised hunting parties, the steward, the head housekeeper, the dog handlers, the mule-drivers, the chauffeur, and the Duke's friends. There were thirty horses occupying the stables and no less than sixty dogs in the kennels.
FUN FACT
From 1924 to 1930 Coco Chanel was an intimate friend of the Duke and a privileged visitor to the castle where she came to revitalise herself.
Other personalities of the interwar period followed such as: Charlie Chaplin, Salvador Dalí, Suzanne Lenglen, Lloyd George, Georges Carpentier, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the designer Sem, and Sir Anthony Eden. Winston Churchill, who had been an intimate friend of the Duke since the Boer War, made frequent visits to Woolsack - alone or with his family. He liked to walk on the shores of the lake and sometimes set up his easel to paint. He produced twenty canvases depicting Mimizan and its surroundings. If only we had one …