COUTENÇON CLOCK

In 1888, Mr. Léon Mendras, Mayor of Marvejols, planned to install a kiosk clock in the Place Thiers (now Place Henri Cordesse) in the town center. Mr. Coutençon, a clockmaker in Creil (Oise), offered to install a 7-meter-high kiosk clock at his own expense in exchange for exclusive advertising rights on all six sides of the clock for 30 years. The agreement was reached, signed, and the clock installed in 1889. In 1963, the clock required extensive repairs: for 20 years the hands remained frozen, but the steel and gilded bronze mechanism was still its greatest asset. In 1989, for the clock's centenary, the town council decided to restore its working order. The clock was working again in 1991, but numerous problems persisted until 1997, when the municipality asked the JOUVE jewelry and watch shop in Marvejols to equip the clock with a quartz movement. The old movement was preserved and is on display at the Petit Musée des 2 Albert in Marvejols.