At the beginning of the 20th century, the North was one of the most industrialised regions of France. Roubaix and Tourcoing were then an important centre of textile production, which earned Roubaix the name of “city of a thousand chimneys”. The Cavrois-Mahieu company, founded in 1865, manufactures high-end fabrics for Parisian houses. In 1923, the company, which had five factories, employed nearly 700 employees.
Paul Cavrois, owner of the company, decides to build a house for his family. In 1922-1923, he acquired land in Croix, on the outskirts of Roubaix.
In 1929, Paul Cavrois entrusted the construction of his villa to the architect Robert Mallet-Stevens.
Mallet-Stevens developed his project in 1929 and the villa was inaugurated three years later, on the occasion of the marriage of one of the daughters of the family, Geneviève.
Abandoned, the villa is prey to vandalism and deteriorates rapidly, despite its classification as a historical monument in 1990. Thanks to the mobilisation of a preservation association, the State acquires a large part of the property in 2001: the villa and the central part of the park.