Hobbit Houses

Ever since we moved to France we have driven to Tours via Manthelan, what we call "up the middle". Sometimes we return via the autoroute and Ste Maure, but we rarely if ever drive north that way.

On the outskirts of Chapelle Blanche St Martin is what we assume is a 1950s house (but could be 60s) with an apsidal wing and a conical stone chimney. This quickly became known as the "Hobbit House".

These are rubbish pics, they were taken from the taxi on a very dull day.

I usually drive, but being a passenger in a taxi for 35 days gave me an opportunity to look around and realise that there are a number of houses built to a similar plan in the area. We now know of 6 Hobbit Houses, but we know nothing about them. When -and why - were they a "thing"? Were they the work of one architect, or was it a fashion?