1. The History
Located in the heart of fifteen hectares of woods between Mons and Nimy, Château de la Cense au Bois was built during the 1860’s after the French Revolution by a wealthy family who resided here until 1984. In 1999 it became a high-class hotel with ten rooms and 20 beds. The owner, Raymond Beck, was as a well-renown baker from Jurbise. The hotel also included a restaurant, “The Gray Osciètre”, overseen by head chef Pierre-Yves Gosse where you could get luxury meals and drink from an extensive wine list. The interior was exquisitely detailed and offered much in the way of comfort.
However, with the costs of up-keep of the manor high, early in the new century Raymond Beck moved on to start business ventures elsewhere and Pierre-Yves Gosse (who sadly died earlier this year, aged 52) left to start the 5th Season restaurant in nearby Mons. Although records are sketchy, the Château was in a state of abandonment by 2005 and has gradually gone downhill as the vandals and thieves have done their thing.
Talk of renovations and re-purposing have come and gone since then. Most recently, in 2014, it was mooted that the chateau may be converted into a well-being centre. However, the project that was estimated to create 150 jobs never materialised as it failed to get past the planners and was dropped in 2016. The house is now open to the elements and the only guests the occasional urban explorer, who have dubbed the ex-hotel “Chateau Cinderella” due to its very “princess” feel and its large blue room.
2. The Explore
A bit of residential relief on an otherwise industrial day. Fifth stop on a full day’s exploring. Arrived here a bit later than I wanted to, and the sun was starting to go down. A really curious place. It’s a very nice house and it is very much in the open and access is just a walk in. It’s been explored many a time but there doesn’t appear to be a previous report on here. It’s been smashed up a bit but has escaped complete trashing. As a consequence, it is still very much saveable. Hence, it’s strange that it hasn’t been sold and returned to use as a hotel. The previous hotel and restaurant were very high-class and there are a number of papers scattered around the place that refer back to then. Other than that, the place is pretty empty bar the odd broken chair or chest-of-draws. It’s spread over four floors – five if you count the mini-wine cellar under the main wine cellar. It’s really shame this lovely house has come to this as the only way is down. It made for a nice and relaxed wander as the sun came down on a busy and successful day of solo exploring in Belgium
3. The Pictures
Into view she comes:
img4233 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Externally, she’s very pleasing on the eye!
img4186 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Cinderella 01 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Back view:
img4230 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Cinderella 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This canopy is a nice little touch:
img4228 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Nice chimney embellishments:
img4227bw by HughieDW, on Flickr
And the railings don’t look like they were gilded too long ago:
img4225 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Inside we go:
Cinderella 04 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Cinderella 19 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Cinderella 14 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Decent nick fireplace:
img4194 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And one not so decent nick:
Cinderella 13 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Nice moulding detail:
img4195 by HughieDW, on Flickr
View from inside looking out:
img4224 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Up to the first floor and a nice fireplace still in situ:
img4206 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Assorted paperwork:
img4212 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This dating back to 1994:
Cinderella 05 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And one of the old menus:
img4213 by HughieDW, on Flickr
One of the many smashed up bathrooms:
img4207 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And another:
Cinderella 10 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Picture window:
Cinderella 11 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Up to the top floor:
img4205 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4210 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Cinderella 12 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And then right back down to the kitchen area:
img4222 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img4221 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Wine cellar:
Cinderella 16 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And safe:
Cinderella 17 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Bye-bye Chateau Cinderella:
img4188 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Located in the heart of fifteen hectares of woods between Mons and Nimy, Château de la Cense au Bois was built during the 1860’s after the French Revolution by a wealthy family who resided here until 1984. In 1999 it became a high-class hotel with ten rooms and 20 beds. The owner, Raymond Beck, was as a well-renown baker from Jurbise. The hotel also included a restaurant, “The Gray Osciètre”, overseen by head chef Pierre-Yves Gosse where you could get luxury meals and drink from an extensive wine list. The interior was exquisitely detailed and offered much in the way of comfort.
However, with the costs of up-keep of the manor high, early in the new century Raymond Beck moved on to start business ventures elsewhere and Pierre-Yves Gosse (who sadly died earlier this year, aged 52) left to start the 5th Season restaurant in nearby Mons. Although records are sketchy, the Château was in a state of abandonment by 2005 and has gradually gone downhill as the vandals and thieves have done their thing.
Talk of renovations and re-purposing have come and gone since then. Most recently, in 2014, it was mooted that the chateau may be converted into a well-being centre. However, the project that was estimated to create 150 jobs never materialised as it failed to get past the planners and was dropped in 2016. The house is now open to the elements and the only guests the occasional urban explorer, who have dubbed the ex-hotel “Chateau Cinderella” due to its very “princess” feel and its large blue room.
2. The Explore
A bit of residential relief on an otherwise industrial day. Fifth stop on a full day’s exploring. Arrived here a bit later than I wanted to, and the sun was starting to go down. A really curious place. It’s a very nice house and it is very much in the open and access is just a walk in. It’s been explored many a time but there doesn’t appear to be a previous report on here. It’s been smashed up a bit but has escaped complete trashing. As a consequence, it is still very much saveable. Hence, it’s strange that it hasn’t been sold and returned to use as a hotel. The previous hotel and restaurant were very high-class and there are a number of papers scattered around the place that refer back to then. Other than that, the place is pretty empty bar the odd broken chair or chest-of-draws. It’s spread over four floors – five if you count the mini-wine cellar under the main wine cellar. It’s really shame this lovely house has come to this as the only way is down. It made for a nice and relaxed wander as the sun came down on a busy and successful day of solo exploring in Belgium
3. The Pictures
Into view she comes:
Externally, she’s very pleasing on the eye!
Back view:
This canopy is a nice little touch:
Nice chimney embellishments:
And the railings don’t look like they were gilded too long ago:
Inside we go:
Decent nick fireplace:
And one not so decent nick:
Nice moulding detail:
View from inside looking out:
Up to the first floor and a nice fireplace still in situ:
Assorted paperwork:
This dating back to 1994:
And one of the old menus:
One of the many smashed up bathrooms:
And another:
Picture window:
Up to the top floor:
And then right back down to the kitchen area:
Wine cellar:
And safe:
Bye-bye Chateau Cinderella:
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