Woonhuis, Provincialeweg Noord 1

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

Introduction.

At the intersection of the Voorstraat and the Provinciale weg, the former Uppelsche or Verlaatsche dike, lying in the immediate vicinity of the location of the former verlaat in the river Alm, stands a VILLA from 1905 with elements of the Chalet style. The building was constructed on the dike with the front section built directly on sand and the rear on a foundation of piles. After the building passed from private ownership to the municipality, it served various functions: mayoral residence, civil protection office, labour exchange and Biesbosch museum. At the end of the 1980s it came into a state of neglect in private ownership. Since the early 1990s it has been in use as an office. The building has been scarcely altered externally. Internally, partition walls in the single-storey wing were demolished in the 1980s and a larger window was installed on the rear side. In the 1990s, the floor level of the ground floor in the two-storey wing was raised, the sand foundation under the house was excavated and the separate parts of the foundation were connected together, creating an additional storey beneath the house. On the rear side two new window frames were installed and a raised section in the paving was removed to provide light to the basement storey. Along the front facade a black marble platform was laid with a matching staircase. Small beds form the separation from the traffic route. The rear garden slopes away toward the old watermill, the reason for the new name mentioned on the gable stone next to the entrance: BUITENWIEL, 1905 DAT. NEC HABET 1992.

Description.

The building occupies an approximately rectangular floor plan under a composite roof laid with red tuile du Nord tiles, with the exception of the southern roof slope which is largely laid with improved Dutch tiles. The single-storey volume with garret has a flat roof with slopes in which uniform roof dormers are placed, one in the front slope and two in the side slopes. These have a zinc-scaled gabled roof with half-hipped end and finial and within the cut moulding the double window. Continuous moulded gutter boards on cut consoles. The two-storey, on the rear side three-storey volume with attic storey has a gabled roof with half-hipped ends and finial. A continuous broad roof cornice with gutters on cut open wooden consoles. Centrally on the gabled roof a chimney and several roof lights. The asymmetrical front facade is built in stretcher bond orange brick with cut joint above a natural stone plinth. Centrally, in a porch, lies the entrance with a panelled door with double cast-iron grilles and a two-light transom. To the right lies a two-storey projecting volume with a gable termination with wind braces between which an arched false spandrel on cornice pieces with consoles is placed. In the gable apex a cupola window with three-part round-arched light. Left and right of the entrance lie on the ground floor six-pane sash windows, on the storey above a string course four-pane windows with three-part lights. The windows in the front and side facades and two examples in the rear facade are of the same type: a segmental arch of red stretchers with natural stone setting and closing stones with infill of glazed blue-green square tiles, except for the two windows in the rear facade with a scored decoration. The sills have brown glazed tiles. With the exception of two windows in the north wall which had shutters, all windows were fitted with roller blinds, of which one original has been recovered. Bands of glazed green tiles in the front and side facades. Both volumes are horizontally terminated with a yellow and red brick mosaic of differently stylised rosettes between the consoles. The side walls are built in red brick and re-jointed. In the south wall of the single-storey volume lie basement windows in a new brick plinth. The rear facade of the two-storey volume is built of dark brick without further ornament, and was shot-blasted, impregnated and re-jointed in the 1980s. It contains various new windows and a roof dormer. A cast and wrought-iron staircase by Mortier & Zn. from Gorinchem leads to the glazed rear door. Inside, after the central entrance lies the vestibule and the white marble corridor to the rear door. In the middle of the corridor lies a grand staircase with pineapple and volute ornament respectively on the stair newel and handrail. On the ground floor to the left lies the principal room with a marble fireplace relocated from elsewhere and new stucco decoration. To the right lies the multi-storey volume with height differences relative to the central corridor and the front/rear side.

Valuation.

The object is of general interest. It has cultural-historical value as an example of the typology of the dike house intended for the elite. It has architectural-historical value as an example of a style consistently carried through to the smallest details current at the beginning of this century. Furthermore it is significant because of the foundation on piles as a novelty for a dike dwelling. It has ensemble value because of its image-defining location at an intersection of dikes with varied ribbon development. The villa has integrity and recognisability value and is relatively rare.