History of the Chateau La Chenevière

In the 17th century, La Chenevière was a vast estate dedicated to hemp cultivation, used for making rope and clothing for fishermen. In the 18th century, the estate became the property of the Gosset family, who built a large house and gradually transformed the farm into the core of a significant landholding.
From 1880 onwards, Gustave, then Pierre Gosset, decided to expand the farm and undertake improvements to the living quarters: a floor was added, along with wooden balconies and a veranda. While the château now only retains the memory of these additions thanks to some period photographs, it still preserves the large stables, now converted into bedrooms, built at that time to house the estate's broodmares and foals, raised and weaned here before being sent to the Haras de Barbeville, owned by the Foy family, who prepared them for the famous Deauville yearling sales.
During the Second World War, the estate was occupied by the Germans. From 1940 onwards, a supply unit was stationed on the property, whose facilities could accommodate between 70 and 80 horses. Soldiers of the Third Reich lived in the outbuildings, although at times, a few officers were quartered in the main house. La Chenevière became the headquarters for high-ranking German officers. Telecommunications stations were installed there, and numerous trucks, motorcycles, and cars were stored on the property.

On the night of June 4th, 1944 Armand Lapierre a resistant and member of the Alliance Network took part in the “Grande Coupure” in order to destroy German communication lines around la Chenevière before the Allied Landing on D-Day 1944. A memorial plaque was unveiled in Armand’s honor on June 4th 2016, on the hotel’s grounds.

The story of Armand Lapierre is now known thanks to the research of Jo Peeters, curator of the Van de Weestand Museum. For more information about the resistance fighter, please visit the museum's website (in English only).

At the time of the D-Day landings, there were no longer any Germans in the house and the Royal Army Service Corps took residence. The town of Port-en-Bessin and La Chenevière became the crossing point for the fuel needed in military operations. Pipelines were installed, including half a dozen around the property, passing through the village to the town of Commes, where the reserve tanks were situated. Behind the house, a pumping station allowed to feed the troops vehicles passing through the artificial harbor at Arromanches.  In 1988, Marie-Françoise and Thomas Dicker bought the manor after belonging to the Gosset family for 133 years. Together, they decided to turn it into a luxury hotel. This charming place full of history, which they call “La Chenevière” in honor of the nickname given to the building in the time of hemp fields, “La Chenevrotte”. The same year, the hotel is licensed and rated 4*. Four years later, in 1992, Le Manoir restaurant joins Small Luxury Hotels of the World group. La Chenevière got its 5th star in 2014. In 2018, la Chenevière celebrated its 30th birthday.