Woonhuis, Oude Kleefsebaan 130

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

This monumental VILLA, originally called 'Dalhof', is situated on a site elevated above the road on the south side of the Oude Kleefsebaan, a short distance from the village centre of Berg en Dal. The building was constructed circa 1912-1914 in the Neo-Historicist style, designed by architect MARTINUS EDUARDUS VEUGELERS (1878-1956) on commission of the (margarine) manufacturer family Jurgens. The villa is surrounded by spacious grounds which nowadays have heavy vegetation making the building less visible from the road. A short distance from the villa are two country estates which were also laid out on commission of the Jurgens family. The village of Berg en Dal, partly situated on the territory of the municipality of Ubbergen, would develop into a fashionable villa village in the second half of the nineteenth century. Many wealthy people, including retired officials from the Dutch East Indies, settled here and in the nearby villages of Beek and Ubbergen, attracted by the natural beauty and good connections with the city of Nijmegen.

Description

The fully basement building is constructed on an almost rectangular FLOOR PLAN and has two storeys under a projecting flat hipped roof covered with weathered improved Dutch tiles. The roof overhang rests on finely carved consoles. Ornamental roof cresting is located at the roof ridge angles. The various chimneys are plastered. The facades are constructed in brick, laid in half-brick bond. At the corners and between the bays, with the exception of the front facade, are pilasters which are interconnected by a brick string course running beneath the roof overhang. The windows are mostly closed off by a lintel with stone dressing of sandstone. On the left side of the building are two extensions. The asymmetrically arranged FRONT FACADE has on the ground floor an entrance consisting of a fine panelled door provided with a small window with a window grille and a five-light fanlight. At the calf level is a canopy on consoles, suspended at the front by two wrought-iron rods, and a five-light fanlight. To the left of the entrance are two four-light sash windows. To the right of the entrance is a timber window with a four-light fanlight. The first floor has two timber windows with four-light fanlights. At the height of the entrance are a timber window with a six-light fanlight and a two-light round window. All windows, with the exception of the latter, are provided with shutters. In the facade of the recessed extension at the far left are two small four-light windows. The LEFT SIDE FACADE has on the ground floor two single-storey extensions. The left extension with overlying balcony has on the ground floor garden doors with glass panels and a four-light fanlight as well as shutters. The first floor has balcony doors with a two-light fanlight and shutters. In the overlying roof slope is a dormer window with a timber window. The adjoining lower extension to the right has a door with a small window and two narrow two-light windows each with two four-light lights and each provided with one shutter. The overlying first floor has on the left two rows of three coupled windows placed one above the other which light the staircase. The lower higher row has three four-light lights. The upper row contains three single-light lights. Window grilles are placed in front of all windows. At the far right is a narrow window with a casement and a four-light fanlight and one shutter. The asymmetrically arranged REAR FACADE has on the ground floor on the left a terrace paved with tiles with an open-work brick balustrade on either side. The sliding doors to the terrace are provided with glass panels. The fanlight is four-light. The ground floor also has a cross window with two casements and two four-light fanlights and two timber windows with six-light fanlights. The first floor has three timber windows with four-light fanlights. All windows and the sliding doors are provided with shutters. In the roof panel is a dormer window with timber windows. The RIGHT SIDE FACADE has a symmetrical arrangement and has on the ground floor across its full width a wooden veranda with a lean-to roof. The ground floor also has both on the left and right double garden doors, filled with glass panels, and provided with four-light fanlights. Shutters are located on either side. The first floor has two timber windows with four-light fanlights and shutters on either side. In the roof panel is a broad dormer window with four timber windows. The roof here is crowned by a roof lantern. The building has a predominantly sober executed, yet well-preserved INTERIOR with panelled doors, simple stucco ceilings with cove mouldings and sober circular ceiling roses in the reception rooms. A striking interior element is formed by the very large 'hall', around which the rooms and the staircase are situated. This 'hall' has wooden wall panelling and a fine tile floor with tiles decorated with floral motifs. The monumental staircase is executed in 17th-century style.

Valuation

VILLA constructed circa 1912-1914 in the Neo-Historicist style, designed by MARTINUS EDUARDUS VEUGELERS (1878-1956) on commission of the manufacturer family Jurgens.

- Of architectural historical value as a sober, yet well and faithfully preserved example of a villa built in the manner of the Neo-Historicist style which in the early years of the 20th century is characterized by an architecture inspired by simple 17th and early 18th-century Dutch brick classicism. The building stands out for the high aesthetic qualities of its design, the well-proportioned volumes and a particular detailing in formal expression and material use.
- Of urban planning value as part of the historic organically grown village centre of Berg en Dal. The villa forms a characteristic part of the historic villa development which significantly determines the character of the village of Berg en Dal.

- Of cultural historical value as a recognisable element of a social development. The villa gives a good picture of the housing of a new, particularly through the industrialisation of the Netherlands in the second half of the nineteenth century, emerging capital-rich elite which preferred to settle in fine villas outside the city in an environment with much natural beauty and good connections with the city. This new population group contributed to a marked change in the social stratification and character of the village of Berg en Dal. The building was constructed on commission of the manufacturer family Jurgens which was instrumental in the founding of what would later become Unilever.

Cultural-historical description

Regarding the architectural style applied, the following can be noted. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the construction of country houses and villas often drew upon the simple seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Dutch brick classicism, whereby motifs from Dutch Renaissance were also frequently used. Sobriety, clarity in form and function, and very restrained use of decoration made it possible for early twentieth-century architects to emphasize mass, volume and material. Ornament played no significant role here. It was the form itself that had to speak. Within this approach, various English elements could be applied to the floor plan (including a spacious hall with freely grouped rooms around it) without the villa thereby becoming un-Dutch. The architect Charles Estourgie was born in Amsterdam where he received his training at the office of Eduard Cuypers, at the same time as, among others, Michel de Klerk and Van der Mey. In the years 1910-1912 he had a major part in the realization of the country house 'De Hoge Vuursche' in Baarn. In December 1912 he established himself in Nijmegen. His move to Nijmegen coincided with his first commission as an independent architect: the construction of an office for the NV Ant. Jurgens Margarinefabrieken in Oss on behalf of F.J. Jurgens. Jurgens withdrew from the firm in that same year and subsequently also had 'Huize Heyendaal' built in Nijmegen according to a design by Estourgie. In the years between 1912 and 1930 Estourgie received numerous commissions from the Jurgens family for building works in the Netherlands and abroad. Thus, in the years 1915-1916 he was involved in the only partly realized development of the estate 'Nederrijk' located a short distance from the villa 'Dalhof', commissioned by R. Jurgens. The Mariënbosch monastery (1923) on the Groesbeekseweg in Nijmegen is considered his most important work. In the catalogue belonging to the doctoral thesis of L. Quaden on Charles Estourgie, mention is made of a design for a villa on the Oude Kleefsebaan commissioned by the Jurgens family. This design drawing, which should be in the Estourgie collection of the Municipal Archive in Nijmegen, was not present here, however. The municipal archive of Groesbeek also provides no clarification on this since the majority of the collection of building drawings from the years before 1945 has been destroyed.