Villa MARIA

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 Kaldenkerkerweg 73, situated at some distance from the street, stands the completely detached VILLA "Maria" with adjoining former LABORATORY of earthenware manufacturer Alfred Russel. The villa was built on Russel's commission around 1894 in a craftsman-traditional building style with the incorporation of various contemporary stylistic influences. The villa is now in use as a residence and office and has been modified and modernized in various respects. Russel's former factory buildings on the surrounding plot have since been demolished. In 1995 an office and garage were added to the rear plot. Alfred Russel built a considerable reputation as a pioneer in the field of ornamental brick production. Many of the materials and ornaments used for the construction of the villa came from his own business. In 1885 he began his activities at the brick factory of Canoy, which already existed at that time. The clay was obtained partly from a pit in the neighboring village of Egypte, situated behind. Russel initially wanted to become an architect and gained practical experience and completed an apprenticeship with Johannes Kayser, city architect in Venlo. Partly for this reason, he specialized in a segment of the building materials market that was then undeveloped, namely the production of a high-quality type of ornamental brick, including glazed and unglazed facing bricks, moulded bricks, terracotta ornaments and tiles. With these products he responded to new stylistic developments in architecture, in particular Neo-Gothic and later Art Nouveau, which paid great attention to tracery, moulded bricks, coloured bricks and ornaments. The brick production in his factories increased by leaps and bounds: from approximately one million bricks around 1893 to a doubling two years later in 1895, later followed by large-scale extensions of the buildings. He also paid considerable attention to qualitative aspects such as uniform appearance, weight, porosity, water absorption, compressive strength and weather resistance. Russel was awarded several honorary diplomas, gold and silver medals for his products at a number of World Exhibitions and building exhibitions.

Description

The VILLA Maria has an irregular floor plan, an asymmetrical layout and consists of a main volume of two storeys plus a roof storey under a roof covered with dark blue-glazed Boulet tiles and secondary French roof tiles and a single-storey volume adjoining the right gable under a flat roof with a two-storey tower placed diagonally. Tower with octagonal, slightly moulded, projecting gutter on corbels on which a spire with ornamental wrought-iron crest. The composite roof on the main volume consists of a gabled roof perpendicular to the street with overhang and a gabled roof at right angles to this with lower roof eaves but higher ridge line, arched at the junction side. Ridge end crowned with richly stylized finial fitted with weathervane bearing a date. On the roof slopes among others a roof dormer under adjoining gabled roof with finial crest and a broad and high-built chimney with banding in yellow facing brick, wrought-iron ornamental wall anchor and decorative tie rod. Simple box gutters on decoratively carved wooden corbels. The roof overhangs rest in all gables on open-work wooden braces supported by decorative small terracotta corbel stones with portrait heads. Multi-part cellar, situated beneath the right part of the main volume and beneath part of the adjoining volume. The facades of the building, laid in red brick in English bond, are articulated horizontally and enlivened by various running courses in yellow facing brick, drip mouldings in dark brown glazed brick and cordon courses with decorative tiles in yellow clay or yellow facing brick. Facade openings with the use of moulded brick, mostly beneath segmental arches and some round arches with shaped pieces in yellow facing brick and pyramid heads as keystones. Mostly stone thresholds. Secondary windows and doors with straight-edged frames. Arch fields mostly decorated with terracotta putti or decorative brickwork. Ground floor windows partly with decorative vase balusters in the balustrades. Front facade three bays wide with right corner projection, ending in a spout gable. In the corner space a secondary terrace with natural stone steps leading to the centrally located entrance. In the gable top a series of five ascending windows, of which only the central one is glazed and the other four are blind with dark brown glazed brick used for the sills. Below, in the second storey, on either side of the window the inscription "VILLA MARIA". Blind left gable ending in a spout gable with a series of seven ascending blind windows with detailing as mentioned above and likewise fitted with dark brown glazed brick for the sills. Adjoining the right gable is a building volume which housed, among other things, Russel's laboratory. Articulation and enlivening largely as mentioned above. This single-storey volume is two window bays wide facing the street and is emphasized at the corner by a diagonally placed, two-storey tower on a square floor plan. First articulation with window fitted with detailing and ornamental work as mentioned above, largely blind but centrally two coupled round-arched air openings. Second articulation narrows above a drip moulding of dark brown glazed brick towards an octagonal superstructure with openings used as a dovecote. Dark brown glazed brick is again applied for the sills and cut surfaces, beneath the projecting gutter runs a decorative tile frieze in yellow clay. The volume extends three bays deep from the corner tower, with a secondary entrance door to the former laboratory in the third bay. The bay is closed off by a brick pinnacle with a stylized ceramic finial as crest. Above the door a plaque with the inscription "LABORATORIUM" in glazed clay. Beside the door a round-arched niche with a polychrome coat of arms of the Russel family, likewise executed in glazed clay. Rear facade with articulation and detailing largely as mentioned above for the front facade.

Valuation

The VILLA "Maria" is of general importance. The object has cultural-historical values. It is of importance as a particular expression of the socioeconomic developments in the Limburgian coarse ceramics industry at the end of the nineteenth century, of which Tegelen was the centre. In particular as the former residence of the internationally renowned brick manufacturer Alfred Russel, pioneer in the field of ornamental bricks, who constructed his residence/laboratory mainly with partly innovative products from his own business. Furthermore, the object has typological value because of the specific combination of a manufacturer's residence with laboratory and a diagonally placed tower with dovecote. The object has architectural-historical values because of the importance of the use of materials (including the early application of glazed brick and moulded brick) and the special ornamental work (including the figured corbel stones, the portrait heads and the ceramic tile frieze) for the history of architecture. The object has ensemble values because of the characteristic situation near the former clay pits in eastern Tegelen, from which Russel also obtained part of his clay. Furthermore, as part of the historical buildings on the Kaldenkerkerweg, which especially in connection with developments in the coarse ceramics industry around the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century became built-up. The object has recognisability value as a manufacturer's residence of brick manufacturer Russel and is of importance because of the cultural-historical, architectural-historical and typological rarity.