*Location:

   Tour Saint-Romain (north tower)
   Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen
   Place de la Cathédrale
     at rue Georges Lanfry
   Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France
   LL: N 49.44064, E 1.09454

   Tour de Beurre (south tower)

Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page

*Carillonist:

   Patrice Latour, carillonneur
   9, rue de Neuvillette
   F 76240 Le Mesnil Esnard
   E: pmlatour@hotmail.com
      carillonneur/@/carillon-rouen DOTfr

   1920-75 Maurice Lenfant (1902-79)
   1975-85 Jean-Francois Claire

*Contact:

   Association du Carillon de la
   Cathédrale de Rouen (ACCR)
   3 rue Saint-Romain
   76000 Rouen
   E: contact/@/carillon-rouen DOTfr

*Schedule:

   6 religious and 6 civil holidays,
   and occasional Wednesday afternoons.
   Identical clock tune every quarter;
   tunes changed occasionally.  Angelus.

*Remarks:

   Bourdon is "Jeanne d'Arc", recast in
   1959 from remains of the 1920 bourdon
   destroyed by war (along with 3 other
   old bells) in 1944; it was not part
   of carillon until 2015 relocation and
   expansion.  "Alyette" (D1) survived
   the war and was restored; other
   survivors apparently replaced.
   Practice keyboard in studio on first
   level ot tower.
   South tower has 6 swinging bells.

*Technical data:

   Traditional carillon of 64 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is F  in the bass octave
   Keyboard range:     F C   /    F C 28
   Transposition is nil (concert pitch)
   There are four missing bass semitones
   There is an identical practice console
   The instrument was enlarged in 2016
     with 16 bells made by Paccard          
   Prior history:
     In 1959, the instrument was enlarged to 56 bells
       by Paccard         
       Pitch of heaviest bell was unknown
     In 1954, the instrument was begun with 50 bells
       by Paccard         
       Pitch of heaviest bell (excluding sub-bourdon) was G# in the middle octave
       Keyboard range was: (A )C C   /    ----21
       Transposition was up  8 semitone(s), i.e., from C to G#
       There were no missing bass semitones
     In 1920, the complete instrument of 29 bells was installed
       with bells made by Paccard         
       (1 bells remain from that work.)
       Pitch of heaviest bell was D  in the middle octave
   Auxiliary mechanisms: S5E   
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2023

The GCF page about this carillon has a description and two photos.  The photo of bells can be opened for a much wider view.

The ACCR Website (in French) is quite extensive, with many clickable photos, and offers a PDF with history of the carillon.
The YouTube channel of the ACCR has more than a dozen videos.

A Paccard project history page includes unusual photos, one of which shows external hammers on the smallest bells.

The English Wikipedia article on the building appears to be a rough condensation of the French version; there is no mention of the present bells.  A night photo shows the northeast tower and the iron-spired central tower, which was the tallest building in Europe from 1876 to 1880.
The corresponding French Wikipedia article on the building has a short section about the bells; there is a photo of it from the front, showing the north tower at left and the south tower at right.
Tower photo
Another photo of the facade

A separate article about the music of the cathedral has detailed tables of the bells, though it seems confused and disorganized.

A French-language page about the building barely mentions the carillon.

Photos of the building (in 2 pages)

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the third phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Paccard bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all French traditional carillons by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all French traditional carillons by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all French traditional carillons by year of completion.

Where the bass bell of this carillon ranks among all great bells in France.
Where the second bell of this carillon ranks among all great bells in France.

Index to all traditional carillons in France.

Index to all tower bell instruments in France/Seine-Maritime.

   This page was built from the database on 29-Dec-24
   based on textual data last updated on 2024/09/18
   and on technical data last updated on 2024/01/23