In 1865, Adolphe Havard built a bell foundry in the Norman town of Villedieu-les-Poêles. Heir to a long line of bell founders, this engineer trained at the ‘Ecole polytechnique’ thus settles the activity, which had been itinerant until then. The opening of the Paris-Granville railway line meant that the bells could thus be transported to the customers without any risk of breakage. In 1903, Adolphe Havard joined forces with his son-in-law Léon Cornille. A year later, Léon took over the management of the foundry, which was renamed Cornille-Havard.