I am Diane and I live in a thirteenth century Manor house with my beautiful, affectionate and friendly border collie, Florette. I am originally from the North-West of England, but I’ve been living and working in various countries and in France since 2000. After seven years of giving English lessons to students at the University of La Rochelle, I decided that my heart belonged to the French countryside, and so began my long search for a traditional French house with character, history and charm. I finally moved to Carlucet in 2007. I have been very lucky to have lived and worked in some stunning places around the world, including Canada, the USA, Australia and the Republic of Ireland, and my aim has always been to restore an old house, using its history to renovate with the utmost integrity. To this end I have sourced and used only traditional materials, local artisans whenever possible and my knowledge and love of historical buildings gained from my Bachelor of Arts studies in Art History. I am now the proud owner of a fully-restored thirteenth century Manoir, complete with original medieval beams, original stone walls created using wattle and daub, enormous fire-places and a vaulted cellar with arrow slits (narrow vertical apertures) where archers once launched arrows during the Hundred Years War.