Historische aanleg, Mecklenburglaan bij 20

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

HISTORICAL GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT: one of the most characteristic features of the historical layout of De Veenkamp is the course of a large part of its boundary, which for approximately three-quarters consists of a bank with densely planted oak trees of approximately 200 years old. The bank, which runs in irregular curves and is provided with a ditch on the outside, has since the 1880s, when a landscape-style park was laid out at De Veenkamp, become an important component of this park layout. The southern section of the bank, which runs along the Langeweg side, can already be recognised on the Map of Het Loo and surrounding area by Willem Leenen from 1762. The bank is indicated in its entirety on sheet 24 of the Topographical Map of the Veluwe by M.J. de Man from 1812. Originally the bank surrounded purely agricultural plots. How the layout developed during the period 1851-1880, when Henry Steers, stablemaster of Prince Hendrik, inhabited De Veenkamp, is not entirely clear. From the house there was a view in an easterly direction onto the meadow bordered by the oak bank, in the composition of which a tree group planted on the right side and still existing (chestnut, oak and hazel) serves as a coulisse. In 1880 or shortly thereafter the then owner Henry Thierry Daendels had a landscape-style park laid out at De Veenkamp by Henry Copijn, so tradition has it, whereby the aforementioned timber bank was assigned a very important role in the composition of this park. On the west side of the house a closed park was laid out - probably in close collaboration with Henry Daendels, a great plant lover - with a large variety of ornamental trees and shrubs, which can be admired via a succession of winding paths. The garden architect paid much attention to the colour composition of the park. Noteworthy are the preserved rhododendron and azalea groups, which are each planted in seven different colours along the drive and at strategic points along the walk of this park section. Furthermore, the following notable tree and shrub species from the second half of the 19th century are to be mentioned: various species of yew, Thuja, box, Hamamelis spec. (in three colours), Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Squarrosa', holly, Picea orientalis, Cryptomeria japonica, Hydranchia, Douglas fir, horse chestnut, Liriodendron, beech, elm, oak, plane tree, Nothofagus antarctica and linden. Behind the house the present irregularly edged lawn was laid out with on the south side a landscape-style pond, with an islet. This park section is bounded on the north and SE side by two drives, which are both located on the Mecklenburglaan and lead in spacious curves to the house. At the height of the house the northern drive is bordered by a bank of defective bricks, a motif that Henry Copijn often used in the gardens he designed. At the height of the house the northern drive branches off in an easterly direction and leads along the northern section of the oak bank in a spacious curve to a third drive of De Veenkamp located on the Hertenlaan. Around 1900 a fourth drive was laid out on the NW side of the park, when Henry Daendels acquired a narrow strip of woodland on this side of the park. Whether this drive on the Zwolseweg, whose course is winding and which connects slightly to the east of the Mecklenburglaan with the aforementioned drive, was designed by him or by Copijn is not known. The park woodland to the east of the drive on the Zwolseweg, which adjoins the northern section of the oak bank, consists of mixed deciduous timber, including 19th-century oaks and chestnuts. At the end of the 19th century a coach house annex stable was built slightly to the east of the house. In the composition of the walk along the oak bank the former coach house annex stable, which is situated slightly to the west of the aforementioned tree group from the Steers period, serves as an eye-catcher and has an ornamental value. At this time also a still existing rectangular orchard was laid out to the northeast of the house. Given the balanced structure of the total park composition it is plausible that the architect of the closed park section was closely involved with the already existing meadow and the oak bank. To enliven the layout of the meadow an isolated acacia was planted in the southern section, of which only the stump remains. The oak bank forms the connecting element between the closed park section on the west side and the adjoining meadow. Furthermore, the bank serves as a tree coulisse and has great visual value in the layout. Since the 1950s the current owner of De Veenkamp, Mrs E.W. Daendels, cleared the path layout again, which had been partly overgrown due to lack of maintenance, and carried out the necessary pruning work. New plantings were carried out mainly in the spirit of the layout from the time of her grandfather.