Singraven

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

The HISTORIC GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT can be distinguished into an inner park consisting of the layout in the immediate surroundings of the house, which also includes the vegetable garden and deer park, and an outer park with arboretum and meadows, which are significant because of several sight lines from the house.

Kasteellaan and Molendijk. The structure of the layout is defined by the Kasteellaan, approximately 800 metres long and projected slightly skew to the central axis of the house, running from the Ootmarsumsestraat up to just before the Molendijk. This avenue planted with oak trees, which forms a neoformal element (last quarter of the nineteenth century), is flanked by meadows and wooded areas and leads to the core of the landscape-style layout around the house. Around this core lie agricultural and meadow lands with hedgerows, watercourses and woods, which are connected to each other by sight lines. The Kasteellaan and the flanking open spaces are inseparably linked. The formal character of the stately avenue forms a surprising contrast with the spacious open layout in front of the house, where the meandering water feature, the Dinkel, plays a defining and picturesque role. From Huis Singraven, aside from the view through the Kasteellaan, two diagonal sight lines are preserved in the planting towards the open landscape (see Bonnekarte 1901-1916 and old photograph of the forecourt dating from before 1948).

Besides the Kasteellaan, the country estate is accessed via the Molendijk, a winding road running from Denekamp along the country estate and the water mill; this dike was presumably laid out in 1450 for water damming for the benefit of the water mill. At the country estate, the dike is provided with avenue planting (limes). The Molendijk fulfils an important role in the layout as an old access route. Already on the Hottinger map of 1783, the avenue planting along the Molendijk is indicated as well as planting of a single row of trees along the Omdinkel (see also the Topographical Military Maps from 1848 onwards).

Inner park. In around 1868, a landscape-style layout was realised in front of the house, characterised by an extensive lawn with gently curving footpaths furnished with tree groups (clumps of beeches and oaks), solitary trees, yews and rhododendrons, so that an alternating effect and depth effect are created. The flowing lawns, the natural course of the Dinkel and the views of the surrounding meadows determine the pastoral character of the layout. From the house runs a sight line to the water mill and a view is preserved to the east of the drive.

To the west of the house, on the far side of the Dinkel, lies a large vegetable garden, which originally formed part of the geometric layout. In around 1920, the old vegetable garden was halved and re-arranged (1920-1922), during which the western moat was filled in and only a small rectangular pond in front of the wooden barn recalls the moated layout. Behind the vegetable garden lies an enclosed landscape park formed by the deer park, which was laid out in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in an already existing star-shaped wood. The hedgerow and hook-shaped ditch as well as some old trees still recall this geometric structure. A circular path offers views over the centrally located loop-shaped pond with island and a single view outwards. On the west and south sides, the deer park is bounded by straight watercourses which in the formal period formed the boundary of the star-shaped wood. Adjoining the deer park lies a meadow with 3 lobes, which was created in the early twentieth-century period. The meadow was originally completely bordered by trees and had a single opening to the north towards the water mill. Between 1952 and 1963 (see Topographical Military Maps from this period), the meadow was opened towards the west, thereby partly lifting the sense of enclosure. Through the deer park winds a water feature (branch of the Dinkel) with a small island. Rhododendrons stand on the small island. On a second islet (peninsula) in the Dinkel lies a burial vault from 1914.

Behind the house (south) lies a meadow bordered by wooded edges, arranged with solitary trees and tree groups. This layout dates from the Laan period, as can be seen from comparison of the Bonnekarte 1901-1916 and the aerial photograph of 1947. The meadow with strong coulisse effect forms an elegant setting for Huis Singraven.

Outer park. Under the direction of the then owner Laan, from 1922 onwards, small agricultural enterprises were cleared, whereby the vacated agricultural land was afforested in a park-like manner with native and exotic timber species. The afforestation to the west of the deer park was created at this time, as was the woodland layout around the meadows of 'Twaalf dagwerk'. From the park, two sight lines are preserved on this terrain.

The Dinkel has a western branch (Om- or Bijdinkel) at the water mill, which join together again several kilometres further. Between the two watercourses lies an arboretum which was laid out according to the design of landscape architect Springer in the 1930s; accessible by means of a straight avenue planted with Douglas firs from the Molendijk. This straight avenue already appears in structure on the Hottinger map of 1783. The arboretum was laid out generously and was meant to be decorative and exclusive. The path structure is V-shaped, consisting of broad grass strips connected by a cross strip. Laan used the trees and shrubs among other things to decorate the edges of the woods. The arboretum was surveyed in 1940 by S. Voorhoeve and a plant list was also compiled (held in the Singraven archives).

In storage at Huis Singraven are several garden ornaments which were originally placed within the layout and may perhaps be reinstated in the future: a) a nineteenth-century black zinc fountain with putti; b) two eighteenth-century ensembles with sandstone putti; c) two eighteenth/nineteenth-century black lead putti on sphere on plinth as an example of funerary art; d) four nineteenth-century black lead putti representing the four seasons (replica of marble originals); e) a nineteenth-century lead putto with trumpet; f) nineteenth-century amorini with shell.

Assessment

The HISTORIC GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT belonging to the country estate Singraven is of general importance:

- by virtue of its age;

- by virtue of the large-scale nineteenth-century layout in landscape style, in which on the one hand natural conditions were deliberately exploited and on the other hand artificial interventions were made such as the laying out of the Kasteellaan;

- by virtue of the presence of tree groups and solitary trees at the time of the layout;

- by virtue of the characteristic siting of the house;

- by virtue of the significance of the layout for the history of garden and landscape architecture;

- by virtue of the functional-spatial coherence with the other components of the country estate.