Historische aanleg, Langbroekerdijk bij 39

English translation

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Description

Description component 2: HISTORICAL GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT.

The historical garden and park layout of the country estate Leeuwenburgh has a main structure that broadly dates from the second half of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. At this time, Leeuwenburgh had a geometric layout in French-classical style, of which a number of elements now remain, including the lane structure, the round pond and sight lines. The house Leeuwenburgh was probably built in 1657 as a country house for Gerard Zoudenbalch. Ten years later, in 1667, Zoudenbalch's estate was purchased by Melchoir Toussain, and in a deed a no longer existing 'dovecote' is mentioned among other things, and the name Leeuwenburgh is mentioned for the first time. In 1728 Leeuwenburgh became the property of the Utrecht magistrate Mr Gideon Boudaan, and in the first decades of the 18th century, thus shortly before or during Boudaan's ownership, a park in French-classical style was laid out around the house. In an early-18th-century bird's-eye view (presumably dating from before 1728) in watercolour by Hendrik de Leth, it can be seen that behind the house there is a central axis. The front pond in the axis is surrounded by parterres de broderie and flanked on both sides by two rows of trees. On the north side a crescent-shaped arbour (of which the left part is still present as a raised feature in the terrain). Behind this on the left the still-existing vegetable garden and on the right the orchard. In the woodland beyond, the large round pond still existing today with scalloped edges, surrounded by star woods. On the west side of the side axis, the Leeuwenburgerlaan, were woodland plots, of which the one at the level of the house and the gardens beyond was laid out as star woods. Many of the 17th- and early-18th-century elements were preserved throughout the entire 18th century. In 1748 Boudaan sold Leeuwenburgh to Johannes Mattijs Swemmelaer, canon of Sint Marie in Utrecht, he also acquired the manor Hardenbroek, the house Molensteyn located on the other side of the Langbroekerwetering, and in 1779 he had three still-existing workers' dwellings built to the east of this house. In 1784 he commissioned the building of a coachman's cottage to the east of Leeuwenburgh at the Wetering. In 1808 the country estate became the property of Arnoud Jan van Westrenen, lord of Sterkenburg, and from 1818 of his son Jan Antonie Godin van Westrenen. During this period there was a naturalization of the park, while the main structure of the formal park still existed. The Cadastral Plan of 1828 gives a good picture of the situation then and still broadly existing now: moated house, a farm building, an oval lawn and a road in the axis of the house leading to the Langbroekerdijk. Behind the house lay the 'pleasure garden' in which the then still oval (now round) pond and behind it the vegetable garden and the orchard, behind which the 'woodland' extended. To the north of the house, on the 'hill' behind the pond, there now stands an iron pergola, presumably from around 1900. Shortly after 1854 Leeuwenburgh became the property of Jhr Mr Pieter de Beaufort. He extended the house with several annexes, had the moat in front of the house filled in, and had the moat to the west of the house excavated in landscape style with the small island. Access to the house was moved to the left side. A bridge was built at the beginning of the Leeuwenburgerlaan. The sight line (the old approach drive) to the south of the house remained. During this period the still-existing sight lines to the dovecote and the decorative rear gable in timber-framing of the farm were created. In 1864 a small gatehouse with associated gate was built on the north side of the country estate. Between 1854 and 1869 the Molenstein, situated almost directly opposite house Leeuwenburgh, received its present appearance as a chapel and dovecote. From that moment the building served as a 'folly' or 'point de vue'. Next to Molenstein stands a fine gate in the sight line of house Leeuwenburgh. From 1900 (the death of Willem Hendrik de Beaufort) to the present day, little has changed in the structure of the country estate Leeuwenburg.

Valuation

The HISTORICAL GARDEN AND PARK LAYOUT is of general importance:

- as a representative example of a garden and park layout in landscape style, partly intact in structure and partly in detail, laid out in phases in the 19th century within a still largely existing 17th- and 18th-century formal layout;

- because of the importance of the layout for the history of garden and landscape architecture;

- because of the sight lines from the main building to the dovecote, the timber-framed gable of the farm, the view of the 'folly' Molenstein;

- because of the functional-spatial coherence with the other components of the country estate;

- because of the spatial coherence with the flat, expansive landscape situated to the south of the Langbroekerwetering.