Begraafplaats, W. de Vries Robbéweg 33

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

GENERAL CEMETERY with various GRAVE MONUMENTS, founded in 1829, forms the southwestern part of the current cemetery. It has a fairly simple structure and a characteristically austere layout for this phase with various monumental solitary (needle and broad-leaved) trees and groups of trees. Notable is the relatively large variety of gravestones and tombs scattered across the site.

Description

The rectangular terrain of the oldest section is in line with the southeastern iron entrance gate. Here lies a straight gravel path, which is crossed midway by a second path, with the crossing being circular and the various corners having circular segments.

The majority of the graves are oriented to the southeast and the open spaces are laid out with grass sods. Scattered across the site, but among others near the entrance gate where there is a slightly curved path, are groups of shrubs, broad-leaved and coniferous trees, including yew, conifers, planes, etc. The appearance of the cemetery is determined mainly by various lying and standing gravestones, some of which are enclosed by iron railings. More striking are several graves with distinct funerary ornamentation, including those with a broken column. Most monumental are several family graves from the third quarter of the 19th century, including that of the Cornelis van Andel family. This elongated vaulted grave is constructed of grey brick with predominantly hard stone elements such as plinth, corner blocks, covering, covering plates and coping. On one long side there is a sunken staircase with hard stone retaining walls, which leads to an iron door, equipped with crossed-placed torches. The hard stone saddle roof has stylised acroteria on the corners and above the entrance a triangular pediment with a laurel wreath in high relief. The roof carries in the middle a hard stone monument, consisting of a slightly tapering shaft on square ground plan, which ends with triangular pediments. The coping consists of an urn with drapery.

The family grave of Arnoldus from around 1900 has a rectangular ground plan with natural stone walls under gently sloping covering plates. In front of it is a rectangular walled section with hard stone gate pillars, between which decorative cast-iron railings are placed.

The northeastern section of the cemetery behind the entrance complex from 1908 has a rectilinear, slightly raised, layout, with a northwest-southwest running main axis in line with the entrance gate. This wide approach drive is flanked among others by conifers and is crossed, like the oldest section, midway by a cross path with circular crossing. At right angles to it lie various paths with grave fields, separated from each other by small hedges. At street level the path pattern has a curved structure.

Between the various monumental broad-leaved and coniferous trees such as chestnut, cedar, hornbeam, yew, etc., there are no graves worthy of protection.

Valuation

The General Cemetery with grave monuments is of general importance because of its cultural and architectural-historical value

- as an expression of a development in the burial system from the beginning of the 19th century, whereby by Royal decree of 1829 it was determined that cemeteries should be laid out outside the built-up area. The cemetery belongs to the oldest generation of cemeteries.

- because of the layout in landscape style with associated grave monuments with their intact and characteristic, mostly symbolic design in Neo-Classical style. The complex is fairly intact with regard to layout and structure.

- as a landscape element on an exit road between Gorinchem and Arkel