Hugo’s house opens its doors after renovations

Old photographs, letters, diary entries and artwork were used to investigate exactly what Hauteville House looked like when Hugo lived there in exile between 1855 and 1870.

Director of the Houses of Victor Hugo, Gerard Audinet, was determined to close the house for only one season.

‘We worked very hard to get all the renovations and restoration done in 18 months so it was not closed for too long, but of course the preparation for this operation began quite some time ago.’

Alongside gathering materials and patterns that matched exactly what Hugo decorated the house with, the team had to tackle structural problems.

‘Victor Hugo was a great writer, artist and designer, but he was not a good engineer,’ Mr Audinet said.

‘We had many leaks and problems with the structure, especially with the double-decked conservatories, but it was very important that we returned the visual aspect of the house to what it was when Victor Hugo lived here in exile.’

One of the greatest contemporary art collectors in the world, Francois Pinault, is patron of the renovation and committed 3.5m. euros to preserve the house, which belongs to the city of Paris.

Renovations were overseen by Paris Musees, which also committed 800,000 euros.

Project architect Riccardo Giordano was selected through a tender process. He has had a love for the house since reading a book on Victor Hugo many years ago.

Although he could not choose his favourite room, Mr Giordano said the transition of dark to light moving up each floor was one of the most interesting elements of the house.

‘The look-out is very spectacular and now is water-tight with UV filters to protect the incredible detail on the cushions and furniture,’ he said.

Around 200 people worked on the renovations, including carpenters, builders, embroiderers, decorators, engineers, consultants and historians.

Mr Audinet said he was proud of the final reveal and the experience meant that so much more has been discovered about Victor Hugo and his creative ideas.

‘I hope the people of Guernsey will enjoy and appreciate the work we have done, and the advertising in Paris for this will hopefully bring many more tourists to the island to see Hauteville House.’

. The house is open six days a week for six months of the year, 7 April to 30 September. To encourage islanders to visit, the museum is offering one free guided tour every Saturday to groups of up to 10 people. Interested parties can book by calling 721911.