Hôtel Scrive

In 1821, two brothers, Antoine and Désiré Scrive, acquired a grand hôtel particulier in Lille. This impressive building, known as the Hôtel Scrive, stands before you on Rue du Lombard. The Hôtel Scrive wasn’t built by the Scrive family. It originally belonged to the Counts Bidet de Granville. The Scrive brothers, manufacturers of carding equipment, transformed part of the Hôtel Scrive into their workshop. This is where the first steam engine in Lille would operate, powering their innovative machinery. The Scrive family’s history is interwoven with the textile industry’s rise in the Nord region of France. They trace their ancestry back to a 15th-century goldsmith from Brussels, Pierre Scrieck. He relocated to Lille when Philip the Good established the city as the financial and administrative heart of the Duchy of Burgundy. Over generations, the family name evolved, first to Scrieck and then, around 1720, to the French version, Scrive. Antoine Scrive-Labbe, a descendant of Pierre, played a crucial role in revitalizing Lille’s textile industry in the early 19th century. He introduced mechanization to carding equipment manufacturing, a pivotal innovation for the region. The Hôtel Scrive witnessed significant changes under the Scrive family. The brothers’ workshop housed 123 carding machines until 1900. After Antoine Scrive’s death in 1864, the business was liquidated, and the hôtel was divided into apartments. Later renovations in the 1920s and 1930s introduced Art Deco elements, particularly in the bathroom. A replica of the library at Malmaison Castle was also added during this period, thanks to the efforts of Olivié Scrive-Masure. She incorporated furniture from Bellanger, originally purchased by Henri Scrive-Briansiaux de Milleville for Malmaison Castle, adding another layer of history to the Hôtel Scrive. Today, the Hôtel Scrive serves as the headquarters of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), a fitting role for a building with such a rich past. During the annual European Heritage Days, the Hôtel Scrive opens its doors to the public. Visitors can marvel at its unique blend of architectural styles, from the original 18th-century features to the later Art Deco bathroom and the scaled replica of the Malmaison library.