Baldershage

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

The RESIDENTIAL HOUSE built in 1915 of the country house type with adjoining GARAGE, associated TERRACE ARRANGEMENT and two GATE PIERS, named 'Baldershage', was constructed on the commission of B.W.M. Ottenvanger according to designs by the local architect M.E. van de Wal. Besides in villa park 'De Kieviet, he also built country houses and middle-class residences elsewhere in Wassenaar. His architecture is characteristic of the rural style of building in the 1910s and 1920s of the 20th century for country houses, which is inspired by English Country House style and indigenous rural building style. This is evident, amongst other things, from the floor plan layout with a grouping of the rooms around a 'hall', the application of thatched roofs, bay windows, the alternation of fair-faced brickwork, rough plasterwork and wooden elements.

The largely original interior and the associated furnishings were designed by Joh. Mutters and supplied by the firm Pander from The Hague. The moveable furniture is no longer in the house. The villa, surrounded by spacious gardens, is situated in villa park 'De Kieviet', which in the period 1911-1914 was designed and developed on the commission of the Development Company N.V. De Kieviet and Wildrust by The Hague architect Joh. Mutters. The first development of the park took place along the Duinweg.

'Baldershage' is located in the northern corner of the villa park on the north side of the Duinweg. The garden is in the tradition of the New Architectural style. This is characterized on the east and south sides by a terrace arrangement with mortared small walls, a large lawn and varied planting with various shrubs and large deciduous and coniferous trees.

The entrance gate is located along the public road, at the beginning of the driveway to the garage.

In 1995-1996 a comprehensive restoration of the property took place.

Description

Detached villa on a complex floor plan consisting of a basement and two storeys under a substantial, slightly projecting, thatched hipped roof with gables and red ridge tiles. Below the roof edge, a decorative block dentil pattern is laid in relief in the thatch.

On both roof ridges stands a mortared chimney joined by a round arch, one of which is executed with a bell-shaped decorative cap. The roof dormers are placed under a wall capping, furnished with windows with glazing bars, partly executed in a lozenge pattern. The wooden gutter rests on iron brackets.

The facades are built in red (handmoulded) bricks (half-brick bond) with a string course above the basement window. The first floor has rough ochre/cream-coloured plasterwork. The single and composite window frames with casement windows covered by a string course and the casement double terrace and balcony doors are furnished with glazing bars. On the ground floor, wrought iron grilles are placed in front of the windows of certain service rooms (kitchen, etc.). Various other windows are fitted with green-painted shutters.

In the left long facade (west) there is an entrance portal with mortared step and two dividing walls, against which pilasters are placed on the facade and, decoratively executed and slightly tapering, piers are placed at the front. They support a thatched saddle roof capping, of which the gable top is finished with pantile-covered parts. The entrance door has a wooden, Tudor arch-shaped door surround. The door is a panel door with clinched nails, fitted with a coloured stained-glass window with a portrait bust en face (presumably 'Baldershage').

To its left there is a service entrance, under a wooden canopy hung on tension rods. It is a double door, where the upper door has decorative diamond-shaped glazing bars. Between the two doors the basement section is recognisable by the iron framework placed on a mortared plinth for the basement window pane division.

The symmetrically arranged front facade (south) has a slightly raised central projection with a loggia in the left recessed section. The capping is supported on the corner by a slightly tapering, decoratively executed pier on the mortared parapet of the terrace. In the right (east) terrace wall, under a basket-arch-shaped niche, a sitting bench is mortared. Against the south-west first-floor corner and in the loggia hang two iron lanterns. Both recessed facade sections have on the first floor a mortared decorative diamond pattern with black-painted figures and letters: 'ANNO' and '1915'.

The right long facade (east) has on the left a relatively substantial rectangular bay window with bevelled sides in front of a projecting gable. Above it is a balcony with plastered parapet.

To the right of the bay window are double terrace doors with above on the first floor a four-pane stairlight window with stained-glass in lead. To the right of this is a less deeply projected five-sided bay window under a thatched roof, of which the composite window frame is executed with stained-glass in lead.

Of the rear facade (north), the right projected section contains the scullery. To its left on the ground floor and the first floor, in the location of the corridors, is a two-pane window with stained-glass in lead. To the left of this are, under two mortared round arches, two wooden doors with diamond-shaped sidelight windows placed.

On the south and east sides, in front of the house, there is a terrace (paved with flagstones), with a mortared parapet and in the central axis a flight of steps leading down to the lower-lying lawn.

INTERIOR. Of the largely original interior with original floor plan layout and various details, the walls are largely white plastered, partly furnished with dark wooden wainscoting and wall coverings. Including the rooms on the ground floor have parquet floors and ceilings with stucco or a timber ceiling. Various basket-arch-shaped door openings and passages are built of red bricks and roof tiles. The door openings on the first floor have wooden surrounds. The draught portal leads to a multi-sided central hall, around which the various rooms are grouped. The hall has a chimney breast lined with Delft blue tiles and opposite it a round arch-shaped niche. On the east side is a staircase with one short and two long flights and landings to the first floor, finished with a decoratively curled wrought iron balustrade. The stairwell is illuminated by a stained-glass window with hand-painted glass on which a motto is depicted. Under the stairs a garden room, with a small fountain, nuanced turquoise tiled walls and tiles with animal figures in high relief.

To the left of the entrance a vestibule with toilet with stained-glass window with coats of arms of Delfshaven, Wassenaar, North Brabant and Friesland. Largely original kitchen and scullery with white glazed (Delft) tile walls closed off by high wainscoting, glass display cabinets and chimney breast with below manganese tiles and an image of a canary in a cage.

The smoking or study room, also called the 'ship's room', has a Historicist interior, of which the stucco ceiling shows influences of Queen Anne style. The walls have high, dark hardwood joinery and wall coverings. Above the green marble-framed open fireplace is a mirror-arch-shaped mirror frame. Chimney breast is flanked by built-in cabinets with glazing bar (glazed) doors. On either side of the bay window are deep niches clad in natural stone with pointed arches, ending in narrow stained-glass windows in lead.

On the first floor is also a spacious hall furnished with a coffered ceiling with on the north side a corridor, on which the various (sleeping) rooms open out, including two bathrooms and sleeping rooms, which are executed in Neo-Regency style.

GARAGE The associated garage at the end of the driveway on a rectangular ground plan is built of red bricks (stretcher bond) and is covered by a saddle roof with red Dutch tiles.

GATE PIERS The two mortared gate piers on a square ground base consist of alternating three courses of red bricks and courses of red roof tiles. They are covered by a capping plate, on which a relatively large lantern executed with decorative wrought iron ornamental work is positioned with copper crown finial.

Valuation

The country house dating from 1915 with associated garage and gate piers is of general interest on account of architectural and cultural-historical value:

- as a representative example of a medium-sized country house from the first quarter of the 20th century in style, inspired by English Country House style and indigenous rural building style;

- as a representative from the first phase of the development of villa park 'De Kieviet';

- the country house is very well preserved in main form, floor plan layout, material use and detailing, of both the exterior and the interior;

- on account of the spatial, functional and stylistic coherence between the various components.