Hauteville House
Hauteville House is a house where Victor Hugo lived during his exile from France, located at 38 Rue Hauteville in St. Peter Port in Guernsey. The house was donated to the City of Paris by Hugo's descendants in March, 1927.[1] It currently houses an honorary consul to the French embassy at London [2] and a Victor Hugo museum; house and garden are both open to the public.
Built around 1800 by an English privateer, the house belonged to William Ozanne. It gained the reputation of being haunted by the spirit of a woman who had committed suicide, and remained unoccupied for several years. Victor Hugo bought the house on May 16, 1856 with the profit from the initial success of the publication of Les Contemplations. By owning it Hugo could not to be expelled from the island, in accordance with the Guernsey law that prohibits the deporting of people with properties on the island. The house was transformed, furnished and decorated by the writer during his exile from 1856 to 1870, and during a return visit in the summer of 1878.
The house consists of four levels, with the top floor featuring a glazed lookout over the surrounding islands. The garden is filled with trees and flowers growing in abundance due to the mild climate.
[edit] References
- ^ Office de tourisme de Guernesey
- ^ La France au Royaume-Uni - Consulat général à Londres (In French)
[edit] Gallery photos
-
The house's garden
-
Hauteville House's consular agency plaque
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hauteville House |
Coordinates: 49°27′05″N 2°32′16″W / 49.4513°N 2.5377°W
 |
This article about the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
