Wegdam

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

Component 2

Description

HISTORICAL GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT belonging to the historic country house Wegdam. The layout, 18th and 19th centuries; consists of a. forecourt and moated "plateau" b. house meadows c. avenues d. parkland

ad a.: Simple forecourt with broad clinker path around an oval grass plot with a sundial in the centre (see under 7); the forecourt connects to the Wegdammerweg, the pavement in front of the house and the surfacing next to the service building, which closes off the forecourt on the south side; on the north side the square is bounded by a hawthorn hedge, along which a narrow border.

ad b.: The house meadows lie within the outer moat on either side of the house; in the middle of the northern meadow an old solitary magnolia; in the southern meadow were formerly the vegetable garden and the orchard; some old fruit trees remain; along this meadow on the south and east side rows of beeches.

ad c.: The asphalt semi-public estate road Wegdammerweg runs in a north-south direction through the complex area and functions as the access drive to the house from both northern and southern directions, which stands on the west side of the lane; planted with several rows of old oaks, many of which are notably overgrown with ivy; directly along the southern arm of the outer moat a westward oak avenue runs from the Wegdammerweg to the stream; parallel to this a beech avenue as the southern boundary of the large meadow with the group of four limes; this avenue transitions into an oval-shaped copse with old beeches and American oaks; finally a short beech avenue in the north as a connection between the Wegdammerweg and the Oude Needseweg.

ad d.: The house Wegdam with outbuildings lies in a wooded cultural landscape with arable land and meadows, which has traditionally had a park character. There is no question of a large-scale designed landscape park; only here and there are deliberate accents created, such as the group of 4 limes, which were planted in the early 20th century in the large meadow directly south of the outer moat, and the little viewing mound, called Kiekenbelt, in the woodland edge along the large meadow in front of the house. This meadow with an irregular elongated shape is important as a view from the house; it is bounded rectilinearly on the north-east side by the woodland edge with the Kiekenbelt and further surrounded by small copses, which together with some individual trees serve as landscaping. West of the house, directly along the outer moat (behind the house the inner and outer moats merge) lies a wooded complex, which serves as the visual background of the house; it is not directly accessible from the house and has mainly the character of a production forest; adjoining on the south side a field; from the moat a short narrow ditch runs from the centre of the rear facade as a small water axis several tens of metres into the forest. On the north-west side lies a triangular plot (C3494) which is surrounded by two straight oak avenues and the Poortweg. This somewhat isolated plot has a layout with a kidney-shaped water feature provided with a small oval island with oak trees along the edge. The islet is accessible by means of an earthen dam. Around the water feature stand some individual trees, which are now more incorporated into the woodland. The layout can be dated from Topographic Military Maps between 1886 and 1935.

Valuation

HISTORICAL GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT of general importance

- because of its age;

- because of the high degree of integrity since the 19th century;

- because of the unobtrusive integration into the agricultural cultural landscape.