Buitenplaats De Wiersse

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

MAIN BUILDING (house De Wiersse) of the historic country estate De Wiersse, of which the oldest known mention dates from 1288, when in a deed by the abbess of the noble convent for women at Hoog-Elten it was recorded that the annual rent on her house 'de Wedersche' was to be paid. Until the 16th century the bond between the convent and the property De Wiersse (which over time was written as Wedersche, Wyrsche, Wyersche and finally as De Wiersse) persisted. In 1651 the Baakse Beek was presumably enlarged, as a result of which the stream came to lie to the north of the house. The cellars on the north side and possibly standing masonry of the house that then still existed form part of the present house De Wiersse which was probably rebuilt after 1678. At the beginning of the 18th century the head (north) of the T-shaped house was rebuilt and the windows of the central section were enlarged. The semicircular natural stone stairs at the main entrance probably date from the same period. In the second half of the 19th century the house fell somewhat into decline and around 1870 plans were made—which were not executed—to provide the house with neo-Renaissance facades. In 1893 heiress Aurelia Carolina van Limburg Stirum married Victor de Stuers and in November of that year Victor de Stuers became owner of the property. In the period 1907-1912 the house was restored, during which among other things the windows were provided with multi-pane (sash) windows in the original 18th-century style, copied from the windows of less important rooms which were not then modernised. During a second restoration of the house, in 1921-1925, by prof. dr. ir. Slothouwer, the front facade (south) was extended two bays deeper and provided with a dome-like, projecting entrance section with reuse of the semicircular sandstone stairs and with a stoep. The interior was also modernised and provided with modern sanitary facilities. In this period the south side of the inner moat—presumably infilled at the beginning of the 19th century—was extended again, as a result of which the house is again completely surrounded by water. The island thus created is surrounded by retaining walls and is accessible by means of a brick bridge. The house has entirely retained the character it acquired during the two restorations in the first quarter of the 20th century. The red brick house on an I-shaped plan, consisting of a basement and bel-étage, is covered by a gabled roof with blue old-Dutch tiles, combined and truncated, on which dormer windows and chimneys stand. In 1912 the rear building was provided with a flat roof to gain space. The entrance section is covered by a five-sided tent roof crowned by a small bell tower with bell. The facades are provided with multi-pane (sash) windows to the original 18th-century model. The rear facade (north) rests in the moat and is provided with an 18th-century black wrought-iron ornamental balcony with gilded ornaments. The front and side facades stand on the island. The side facades are provided with entrances to the ground floor and with trellises to a 19th-century design.

INTERIOR

The interior of the house was modernised during the two restorations in 1907-12 and 1921-25. For example, until 1921 there was no corridor on the bel-étage and the staircase was incorporated in the entrance hall. In 1921 the layout of the floor plan became irregular and in 1922 the front house and entrance were built among other things by professor Slothouwer, whose door with fanlight comes from an Amsterdam house that was demolished at that time. In the present interior, which largely dates from the period 1921-1925, many components have been incorporated which come from the collections of Victor de Stuers. On the bel-étage there are among other things rooms with simple stucco ceilings, a mantelpiece with carved frieze in early Louis XV forms, an early 18th-century linen wallpaper (chinoiserie, originally red and green) moved in 1925 from the 18th-century part of the house to the entrance section. In the dining room there are painted landscapes from 1820 by W. Uppink applied around 1916, wooden carved overdoor panels from ca. 1925 in the same style as the early 19th-century stucco ornaments in the ceiling and around the display cabinet, a parquet floor from ca. 1916 and a sideboard from the same period. The south-west salon was furnished in 1925: the parquet floor dates from this year, as do the wooden wainscotings, curtains and cornices. The curtains and cornices in the library and music room also date from the same year. The curtains in the small library date from ca. 1870. The mantelpiece comes from the conservatory of the Parkstraat and originally comes from the consistory room of a Leiden church. Also on the bel-étage marble floors, oak-painted wainscotings and interior shutters which partially fall within the wainscoting. Central to the house is the staircase installed in 1925, several balusters and ornaments of which are 17th-century and are provided with carved floral scrolls. The interior of the first floor largely dates from 1925, a number of doors were made after the model which was found in the house of De Stuers in the Brusselse Straat in Maastricht. The interior of the ground floor partly dates from before 1912. Here there are among other things the kitchen and bedrooms. Also, under the entrance section tiles collected by Victor de Stuers have been incorporated, and in the room on the east side an early 18th-century mantelpiece. This and several hearths are provided with small floors with slates placed on edge in the Maastricht manner. The rooms on the north and east side, as well as the corridors are provided with oak or painted wainscotings from the period before 1912 and partly from 1925.

The MAIN HOUSE (House De Wiersse) belonging to the historic country estate De Wiersse is of general importance:

-because of its age;

-because of its architectural design;

-because of the high degree of integrity of the exterior and interior;

-because of the functional-spatial relationship with the other components of the country estate;

-because of its characteristic location within the park layout which in origin dates from the 18th century and in the first half of the 20th century acquired its present character in Italian-English style.