Église Saint-Jacques de Châtellerault

The carillon was installed in Saint-Jacques church in 1867 at the instigation of the parish priest, Abbé Boislabeille. The Bollée family, founders and engineers in Le Mans, proposed the construction of a substantial carillon. It consisted of 50 bells distributed between the two bell towers: 6 large bells to the south, 44 smaller ones to the north, financed entirely by donations from parishioners. It is equipped with an automatic set controlled by the clock, which is triggered three times a day. The Bollée family made the Châtellerault carillon unique by adding a manual carillon equipped with a carillon machine: this power transmission system enabled the carillonneur to play the bells with his fingertips on a simple piano keyboard. The carillon bells were blessed on November 13, 1867, and ran smoothly for 60 years, punctuating the lives of local residents with their daily melodies.