The town hall
The town hall
Louis Duthil, mayor of Clères from 1898 to 1919, bequeathed his personal house to the commune, along with a sum of 5000 francs for transformation works, on condition that it be transformed into a Town Hall within two years counting from the departure of his maid in December 1923.
In accordance with the decisions taken by the town council on January 20th 1924, M Anquetin, a Rouen architect, drew up the plans and the quotes. The town council accepted the quotes and voted for a budget of 25930 francs (5000 francs from M. Duthil plus a loan of 20920 francs).
This new town hall was inaugurated on March 1st 1958. The Justice of the Peace was also housed here until 1958.
In 2007 an extension was added in the back courtyard to create an official wedding room and a small IT computer room for the various Clères associations. It was also used as an art exhibition area.
Inside the town hall can be seen :
A collection of portraits of all the Presidents of the French Republic from Adolphe Thiers to Emmanuel Macron.
Books and objects from the museum created by Hippolyte Lemarchand in the loft of the covered market.
A wooden measuring board for measuring young men called up for military service at the time when the review board was in Clères.
Paintings attributed to Louis-Léopold Boilly, 1761-1845, portrait painter and trompe l'œil artist.
Drawings by Edmond Spaliskowski.
Louis DUTHIL
Louis Duthil was born on April 27th 1839 in Clères and he died there on August 19th 1923. Elected town councillor in 1892 and deputy in 1893, he became mayor of Clères in 1898. He resigned in 1919 for health reasons.
According to his certificate of marriage on June 11th 1877 to Maria Rosa Lemartinet (born October 16th 1850) and the birth certificates of his two children, he was a producer of wool and cotton textiles in Rouen where he lived at 22/24 Stanislas Girardin.
His death certificate indicates that he was unemployed at the time.
New town hall inauguration festivities
Extract from the town council meeting of December 17th 1924 : Inauguration of the new town hall. The delegated commission has fixed the inauguration for March 1st and set out the following programme.
Opening of festivities in the morning by bell ringing and artillery salvos :
10.00 - distribution of bread and meat to local inhabitants
14.30 - reception of public authorities/dignitaries at the covered market
15.00 - inauguration - visit
15.30 - parade, return to the covered market
16.00 - vin d’honneur in the covered market
16.30 - concert in the garden
18.00 - banquet, on subscription
20.00 - illumination of the town hall
20.30 - free public ball