Bijgebouwen, Nieuwe Steeg bij 74

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

Cluster 70.

NEW HOLLAND WATERLINE

Introduction

BOMBPROOF, DOUBLE-SIDED BARRACKS - building B - with casemate, as a rare, earth-covered building with two facades facing each other. The CASEMATE connects buildings B and G. A casemate is an underground, bombproof passage within a fort or other work that connects components, usually main and outwork(s). A barracks is a residential building for soldiers and their equipment. It was the French who at the end of the 18th, beginning of the 19th century introduced the system of housing soldiers in barracks; from that time on, barracks became part of forts, but alongside this many were also created as separate structures within or outside built-up areas (cities). The barracks buildings situated within 19th-century forts and other works were usually constructed as bombproof shelters, meaning they were considered capable of withstanding a predetermined number of impacts from heavy calibre fire. Meters-thick masonry was initially used as building material and later (reinforced) concrete, while as covering for the roof and the front side(s) an earth layer was additionally applied. Barracks not situated within forts or other works were buildings erected and fitted either specially or otherwise for that purpose with accommodation for the (permanent) quartering of military personnel, often also provided with other military facilities, such as parade grounds. In the case of the barracks at the Fort at de Nieuwe Steeg, earth-covering of the heavy masonry took place virtually all around and only the two main facades of the wings built opposite each other and a connecting piece between both wings are visible. The barracks are situated virtually centrally within the fort; the two parallel facades extend from northwest to southeast. The foundation stone was laid in 1876. For the sake of the public function of the fort, the space between both wings has been covered with a transparent, gently sloping gabled roof structure and closed with an equally transparent wall. Modern adaptations and facilities have been made in the interior.

Description

The BOMBPROOF, DOUBLE-SIDED BARRACKS, building B, of the FORT AT DE NIEUWE STEEG, consists of two wings situated opposite each other that are connected in the southeast. The particular siting of both building components was related to multi-directional enemy main firing lines. Between both wings lies a clinker pavement. The barracks are covered all around and on top by a thick earth layer, which reveals only the facades of the wings situated opposite each other. Both opposite-facing, executed in heavy masonry facades are two storeys high and contain five accesses with clamped doors with arched fanlights, flanked by small arched windows, and above them arched windows and likewise smaller ones. The steel shutters date from the period 1910-1940. The southwestern, longest facade ends in a sloping wing wall, behind which among other things authentic sanitary facilities. The opposite, northeastern building component ends in a right-angled blind facade. The barracks building contained from the outset, among other things, sleeping quarters, sick rooms, an infirmary and a kitchen. In the interior, which is still largely intact in terms of spatial layout, there are now among other things still the staircases and privies. Components such as doors, water-collecting tanks, ventilation channels, etc. are also still present. The entrance to the CASEMATE is located in the connection between both parts of building B. An arched access with double door gives access to a corridor with ammunition and gunpowder magazines on either side. The casemate provides via double doors between wing walls a connection to building G, on the southeast side of the fort.

Valuation

The BOMBPROOF, DOUBLE-SIDED BARRACKS, building B, with CASEMATE of the Fort at de Nieuwe Steeg is of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Holland Waterline as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially constructed from 1815 by him, Jan Blanken and Major-Engineer Willem Offerhaus and subsequently strengthened and improved by others over approximately 125 years.

* Architectural-historical values in particular as an expression of military-strategic building design, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (19th century), b. the race with increasing offensive weapons (19th century).

This concerns a building from the period 1875-1885, namely a bombproof building with casemate from around 1878.

* Ensemble and situational values because of the functional and physical coherence with the other components of the complex.

* The building is representative (characteristic) because it still exhibits the physical characteristics that gave rise to its construction at the time and it is rare or even unique in its execution with two frontally opposite-facing, approximately equivalent facades.

* The building is well-preserved because in terms of structure and physical appearance several principal aspects of the condition in the 1880s are preserved.