De Tempel

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

Description

MAIN BUILDING (Huis de Tempel). The main building of the historical country estate De Tempel, executed in a neoclassical style, was built in 1939 after a design by Rotterdam architect H. Sutterland. It is presumed to have been built partly on the foundations of the then-demolished, older main building and positioned several metres further back relative to this former building. The roof of the previous house was presumably reused. The white-painted, three-storey house is built on a rectangular ground plan, is partly cellared and is covered by a hipped roof clad with grey slate. The storeys are provided with broad overhangs and the second storey steps back somewhat. The seven-bay-wide front facade is provided with a projecting central risalit (three bays wide) which is fitted with a veranda on the ground floor and a balcony on the upper storey, both supported by columns. Above these are three windows positioned somewhat forward. On the left side facade the main entrance is located beneath an outbuilding supported by columns. On the right side facade there is likewise a low outbuilding. All facades have regular window and door arrangements. The windows and doors are mostly provided with multi-pane windows, the upper lights of which are fitted with leaded lights. The doors, frames, window woodwork etc. are painted green. The rear facade of the property is provided with a regular arrangement with centrally, in a projecting risalit, three narrow windows in which leaded-light panes are set.

INTERIOR – The property still retains the original layout in its main lines, but has been adapted for its current function as a nursing home. Among the original interior components of particular importance are the leaded-light windows in the hall.

Valuation

MAIN BUILDING of the historical country estate De Tempel, of general importance:

– on account of its age;
– as a fine example of a main building of a country estate executed in a neoclassical style;
– on account of the high degree of integrity of the exterior;
– on account of the characteristic location within the park layout;
– on account of the functional spatial relationship with the other components of the country estate;

Cultural-historical description

The country estate Zijdebalen was laid out by Jacob van Mollem at the end of the 17th century. His son David considerably embellished the country estate between 1719-1740. In addition to sculptures made by Xavery and Cressant, sculptures from elsewhere were also acquired. In 1816 the factory belonging to the country estate closed, and in 1819 the entire country estate (including the garden sculptures) was auctioned.

The late 17th-century pine-wood sculpture group, called 'Lot and His Daughters', was purchased in 1820 by one of the Criellaert ladies for De Tempel. Currently (1997) the sculptures are stored by the Municipality Rotterdam/Overschie and originally lay on a brick and natural stone basement at the front of the main building De Tempel. The sculpture group consists of a river or stream god (with two bulrushes in the hair) and two stream nymphs, Diana and Ceres, and was created by Utrecht sculptor Jan van der Mast. The sculpture group very probably did not originate from the country estate Zijdebalen; originally there was still a fourth sculpture – a frog. In 1997 a copy in natural stone of the sculpture group was made by the studio of Ton Mooij in Amersfoort and placed in the original location around the pond at the front of the main building.