Historische aanleg, Historische tuin- en parkaanleg Kasteel Genbroekstraat Geverik (Beek 31)

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

HISTORIC GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT. The historic park layout of Gebroek house is principally determined by a landscape-style park that came into being in the first half of the 19th century. Within this layout a formal axis has been preserved, dating from the 17th or 18th century. This axis is formed by the driveway - marked at the public road (Kasteel Genbroekstraat - Geverikerstraat) by two imposing 19th-century horse chestnuts - and by a cart track located in the extension of the driveway (currently planted on both sides with a row of 20th-century lime trees), which is terminated on the west side by the Maastrichterlaan. On the north and south sides of this track are respectively an orchard and a meadow. Besides its function as an access lane to the house, the axis led in an easterly direction towards the sand and gravel pit situated in the sloping woodland, which was exploited into the 19th century and to which an excavation on the spot still testifies. As such, the axis is depicted on the Tranchot map (1805-1807), which moreover indicates to the south of the south wing of the house a rectangular courtyard, which can be identified with the current rectangular vegetable garden; the southern half of this vegetable garden, which currently contains some fruit trees, a vegetable and flower garden, was afforested in 1970.

For the rest, it can be remarked on the basis of the Tranchot map that the layout at this time still had principally a utilitarian significance. To the east of the house (named 'Printhagen' on the map) two large rectangular mill ponds are indicated, which narrowed directly to the north of the axis, where the leather mill was situated, to a series of four successively positioned channels - also ponds. At this time the slope on the east side, along which the Keutelbeek flows, was still unwooded. On the south side of the Gebroek layout is a meadow, which is articulated by a system of five narrow straight watercourses. Beneath the ground level, which was raised in the 1970s, there is still a fine-meshed pattern in a herringbone motif, of which the visible system of straight watercourses forms the system of 'backbones' (for two channels this pattern was uncovered in the 1970s; the remaining three channels were not investigated). Originally the pattern was filled with red clay pipes, as became apparent when the ground was raised in the 1970s. This system of watercourses, which presumably dates back to the beginning of the 17th century, had a draining function. It is possible that the system also served as an additional water source for the pond.

After approximately 1825, when Gebroek was purchased by the Belgian family Baron De Roosen and when the east wing was rebuilt for more comfortable habitation, the layout of Gebroek was transformed into a landscape-style park. The two mill ponds were dug out into one large landscape-style pond (during a cleaning of the pond in the 1960s the piles of the lining and the partition wall between the two ponds were found to still be in the ground). The slope on the east side was planted with principally beech (furthermore some Weymouth pines and on the NE side 19th-century oak) as production and park woodland and provided with a simple pattern of winding paths. At the foot of the sloping woodland, where the soil permits much deeper rooting, other varieties (oak, red beech, acacia, chestnut), also still existing, were planted. Around this time the southern extension of the Keutelbeek was laid out at the foot of the sloping woodland, which previously originated to the north of the most northern channel. The Gebroek layout does not have a refined pattern of winding paths, whose well-balanced progression carefully shapes linked landscape scenes, but is built up by a few modifications made to the properties ideal for a landscape park, which the Gebroek terrain naturally offers: the planted sloping woodland as an important screen, the mirror water surface situated in the valley as the heart of the layout and the partly open and partly screened meadows formed by tree screens (red beech, horse chestnut), which by their spaciousness contrast with the enclosure of the central park section. The meadow surrounded by a woodland edge running in irregular curves to the south of the house and the vegetable garden was laid out around 1970. The meadow lies fairly isolated from the rest of the park section and is of significance in the historic layout as a green buffer. The same value is held by the poplar wood to the south of this, which was also planted at that time. Also noteworthy are a monumental cut-leaf purple beech on the SE side of the stone barn and the lime tree avenue on the west side of the meadow with the channel system, which both probably date from the 19th century.

On the map of Gebroek from 1847 by M. Jaspan (coll. Mr L.H.W. Regout) it can be seen that the channels in the meadow to the north of the driveway axis still had their formal form at this time. As such, this form remained until after 1920, as indicated by the Topographic and Military map from this year. On the 1935 edition it can be seen that these ponds have been dug out to the current two landscape-style ponds.

After 1966, when Mr L.H.W Regout became owner of Gebroek, a rectangular terrace was laid out on the east side of the house. For this purpose part of the west side of the large landscape-style pond was excavated and the bank was straightened here. For the purposes of protection this terrace is of subsidiary significance. The same applies to the neo-formal boxwood parterres on the courtyard of the house planted by the current owner, which certainly have great ornamental value, but whose significance for protection is subsidiary due to their relatively young age. Furthermore in 1969 of the four rectangular channels on the north side of the park, the two southern channels were dug out in landscape style. With the earth that became available the terrain, which was very wet in this location, was raised. The channel to the north of this retained its rectangular form. On the site of the most northern channel there is now a school complex.

In this period the meadow to the north of the house was also provided on the west side towards the public road with a timber fence, so that on this side too the layout acquired an enclosed atmosphere.