Militair verblijfsgebouw, Nieuwe Steeg bij 74

English translation

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Description

Cluster 70.

NEW HOLLAND WATERLINE

Introduction

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P as representatives of added reinforced concrete components of the defence of the Linge access and the inundation works at Asperen. At several locations on and near the Fort at the Nieuwe Steeg there are small reinforced concrete defence works. They were erected here especially for the defence of the sluice complex at Asperen by means of which large parts of the polders in front, including in the Alblasserwaard, could be inundated and for the defence of the Linge access. These works, carried out in the years 1939-1940, include among other things a number of group shelters type P, some of which were built on the fort, while also to the north of this on the Lingedijk there is still an example, in the immediate vicinity of the cast-steel cupola casemate. The group shelters Type P were built in the years 1939-1940 at multiple locations in the Netherlands according to a more or less uniform or standard design. The total number of built examples is approximately 700, of which in the New Holland Waterline approximately 570; the majority (approximately 400) of these still exist. The building programme of the group shelters Type P was not completed at the outbreak of the Second World War and a number of examples are known never to have been completed. Type P (also called 'the pyramid' because of its distinctive shape) is presumably the best-known type of concrete defence work in the Netherlands. The type originated from the so-called VIS 77 (Regulation for Arranging Positions no. 77) from 1928 and had among other purposes the role of forming part of the defence of a number of existing and new accesses, including in particular (high-speed) roads. The group shelter Type P usually came into being in the immediate vicinity of already existing casemates, gun emplacements, fortifications or trenches realised at the same time. Because the trenches and other earthworks were later levelled or demolished almost everywhere, the concrete shelters nowadays sometimes lie partly below ground level. The entirely closed front or forward side of the group shelters Type P was in many cases covered by earthworks which could form part of a glacis for the protection of the trench or a covered way. These earthworks are now usually no longer present or only barely recognisable, but particularly on forts or in otherwise uneven terrain they are sometimes still present. Numerous examples of Type P were built in areas liable to inundation, in some cases with a visible timber-pile foundation; in others a foundation plate projecting all round or also a trough against inundation water is visible.

Description

GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P are one storey high and usually executed in reinforced concrete of approximately 100 to 180 cm thick and formed shell-proof, military shelters, which could provide protection for 10-12 infantrymen / gunners, with cover class W 12-15 or W 21-28. In the Fort Complex at the Nieuwe Steeg, most of the group shelters are of the heaviest class. The group shelters Type P were built on a rectangular plan, with dimensions ranging from approximately 5.50 x 7.20 x 4.70 m to 6.50 x 8.20 x 4.90 (w x d x h). The visible height above ground level varies, however. Both blind side walls and the gorge side are executed vertically to a height of approximately 3.00 m. Above this these walls slope inward at approximately 45 degrees, then continuing into a flat roof. On the right of the gorge side is an access opening, usually square, at locally varying height above ground level, which was later blocked or not blocked. The entirely vertical, closed front side reflects the angles of 45 degrees and thus ends as a 'truncated pointed gable'. In a number of cases iron hooks or brackets were cast into the wall(s) which could serve to fix camouflage material. A characteristic component on top of the shelter type P is the conical, concrete 'outlet', which was intended for the use of a periscope. These periscopes were however never actually fitted in practice. The interior of the group shelters Type P consists of a short corridor (usually with a concrete retaining wall or balustrade and usually a few descending steps) and a 'sluice' from there directed to the left which could be locked by a (consisting of multiple parts) heavy steel door. Via a second, similar door, a rear rectangular space could be reached to the right, the actual shelter. Access to this space could be covered by a rifle loophole. However, the steel doors were rarely or never fitted and the entrances were often later blocked with brick and plastered over. The ceilings, located just over two metres above floor level, are flat and rectangular. In a number of cases interior components are still present, such as (remains of) wooden benches or a rest for the handheld weapon for covering the entrance.

The group shelters Type P which form part of the Fort Complex at the Nieuwe Steeg are located especially on the fort; one example is located slightly north of the Lingedijk, in the vicinity of a concrete block of a Cast-Steel Cupola Casemate Type G.

Valuation

The GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P, from and at the Fort at the Nieuwe Steeg are of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Holland Waterline as this was designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially from 1815 by him, Jan Blanken and major-engineer Willem Offerhaus was realised and subsequently by others for approximately 125 years strengthened and improved.

* Architectural-historical values in particular as an expression of military-strategic architecture, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and accesses (19th century), b. the arms race with increasingly strengthened offensive resources (19th and 20th centuries), c. the system of 'living' field fortification (20th century).

These are components from the years 1939-1940, namely concrete troop shelters, now without earth covering.

* Ensemble value and situational values as components of the New Holland Waterline. Also because of the functional and physical coherence with the other components of the complex.

* The components are representative (characteristic) because they are clearly recognisable as components of a dispersed defence line added to the existing fortification system.

* The components are reasonably well preserved, because as built components they are still well recognisable in the field.