Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel of the old customs, also known as Hotel Épron de la Horie, is an emblematic monument of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, built in 1781 by Jacques Martin Maurice, an entrepreneur enriched by the works of the harbour dyke. This schist and red brick building, located at the corner of Val-de-Saire Street and Lawton-Collins Pier, embodies 18th-century civil architecture in an expanding port environment.

Originally owned by Jacques Martin Maurice until 1802, the hotel passed into the hands of several notable figures: the shipowner Pierre-François Richer, then Louis-Jacques Épron de la Horie, naval officer who rented it to local traders such as François Cousin-Despréaux. The latter became its owner in 1827, before the building was acquired by Victor-Eugène Liais, a rich arms dealer whose succession in the nineteenth century was the highest in Cherbourg.

In the 19th century, the hotel changed hands several times within the Liais family and their allies, like Dr Frédérique-Auguste Guiffart. In the 20th century, it was leased to the Customs Administration (1921), then purchased by the Chamber of Commerce before sheltering the Caisse d'Epargne (1978-2020). Since 2020, its ground floor has hosted a notarial study, while the floors retain private apartments.

Ranked a historic monument in 1965, the hotel is distinguished by its large bays aligned on two floors and its characteristic headband, the "floor nose". Its history reflects the economic changes of Cherbourg, from the port activities of the eighteenth century to contemporary administrative and banking uses.

Historical sources, such as the work of historian Bruno Centorame, underline his role in local life, from its use as a Swiss barracks or auxiliary hospital to its integration into the current urban landscape. Its architecture and successive occupants make it a privileged witness to the maritime and social history of Normandy.

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