Catharina van Groningen schrijft boekje: 'Kasteel Broekhuizen' - Doornse Krant
Dutch master returning to glory days - Financial Times
Brochure 'Castle Broekhuizen'
The Country Estate of Castle Broekhuizen
The country estate Broekhuizen in the village Leersum is situated in the centre of the Netherlands. It forms part of the so-called "Utrechtse Heuvelrug", a protected area with many landscaped Parks and country houses. Leersum is located between the two major cities, Arnhem and Utrecht, only 45 minutes from Amsterdam. The Broekhuizen Estate consists of one main building, the Castle Broekhuizen, a Greenhouse, a Coach house, a Farm house and a barn in a beautiful landscaped Park, surrounded by the "Utrechtse Heuvelrug" woods.
The main building, The Castle Broekhuizen
The Castle Broekhuizen, as it currently stands, is the result of a renovation in 1906 of a Neo-classical house built in 1810. The earliest record of a house in this estate dates from 1400, as described by Roeland Roghman in 1646/47. He shows it as an asymmetrical complex of buildings surrounded by a moat. Around 1628, a considerable renovation must have taken place; in 1629, it was granted the rights of a manorial farm. A century later (1725), the building was completely altered by the nobleman Frans van Arkel. The house was altered and extended to become a rectangular building, broad but shallow with a hipped roof on all sides, chimneys on the corner ridges and a Louis XIV-style entrance. The Castle, however, underwent yet another change in 1794 under the architect J. Berkman, commissioned by C.J. van Nellesteyn. Finally in 1810 the renowned architect B.W.H. Ziesenis designed the main building as it is today.
The Park
The magnificent Park was laid out by J.G. Michael, (1730 - 1800) assisted by his son-in-law J.D. Zocher sr (1763 - 1817) and grandson, the younger Zocher (1790 - 1860). With its ponds, its circular meadow and superb vistas, it can be regarded as one of the most important parks in this style in the Netherlands.
The Coach House
The coach house is situated on the western side of the castle alongside the driveway to the Castle. No original pictures or drawings exist of the first building. Obviously it didn't meet the requirements, since the Coach house was totally rebuilt in 1897, according to the design of J.J. van Nieukerken, who was commissioned by tis contemporary, M.I. Pauw van Wieldrecht.
In 2001, the Coach house was completely renovated according to the original set-up. This meant the restoration of the adjoining house and the so-called armoury room where the bridles were kept.
The Greenhouse
A monumental greenhouse was built on the right side of the house in the same style. The building lies at an angle the the main castle and looks as if it was build of a hill-side. From the front, it appears to be a 2-story building. In reality, it is a 3-story building. This becomes apparent when you face the back of the building.
The front of the building has 2 arched alcoves at each side of te building. The alcove on the left contains a woman's figure, most probably Venus. While the alcove on the right contains that of a man, probably presenting the God Pan. Both statues date from between 1700 and 1720 and were made by the sculptor Pieter van Baurscheidt de oude (1669 - 1728). In 1999 the Greenhouse was renovated, restoring some of its authentic design and modernizing it in such a way that it is currently suitable for office space.
Castle Broekhuizen is an impressive monumental building with four Ionian pillars on the front facade. A striking double flight of stept in Belgian Limestone Leads up to the grand entrance wich is flanked on both sides by a sphinx.
Catharina van Groningen schrijft boekje: 'Kasteel Broekhuizen'
Doornse Krant - 18 september 2003
LEERSUM - Er is al veel gepubliceerd over Kasteel Broekhuizen. Het boekje van dr. Catharina van Groningen dat zaterdag 13 september werd gepresenteerd is echter een parel in de reeks, want nog niet eerder is een zo compleet werk verschenen. De presentatie vond plaats in het koetshuis van Broekhuizen, dat bijna gereed is na een ingrijpende restauratie.
Er werden vele woorden van waardering gesproken, de eerste die in het zonnetje werd gezet was Gerrit Heinen van uigeverij ICS in Leersum: "Als Gerrit Heinen iets in zijn kop heeft, dan heeft hij het niet in zijn kont." Heinen heeft met persoonlijke inzet de samenstelling en vormgeving voor zijn rekening genomen, waardoor de geschiedenis van de wooncultuur van het belangrijkste monument van Leersum in woord en beeld heel wat toegankelijker zijn geworden. Heinen reikte aan de schrijfster de eerste exemplaren van het boekje uit, vergezeld van het origineel van het schilderij dat de titelpagina van het boek illustreert.
De huidige bewoner van Broekhuizen, De Greeff, sprak zijn bewondering uit over "de liefde voor Broekhuizen waarmee Catharina van Groningen haar onderzoekswerk verrichtte."
De schrijfster zelf begon met een grote stap terug in de geschiedenis: "244 jaar en 8 maanden geleden werd, pas nadat zijn ouders twintig jaar gehuwd waren, Cornelis Jan van Nellesteyn geboren als laatste in een oud regentengeslacht. Was deze stamhouder niet geboren, dan zouden wij hier vandaag niet bijeen zijn. Cornelis Jan kocht Broekhuizen in 1792 en brak alles af. Hij bouwde een nieuw huis, gooide het park op de schop, scheidde van tafel en bed van zijn vrouw en ging er in 1796 met zijn huishoudster Fijtje (Sophia) Schuilenburgh uit Leersum wonen."
Catharina van Groningen promoveerde op 1 april 2003 aan de Universiteit van Utrecht tot doctor in de letteren. Het onderwerp van haar promotie was 'De wooncultuur op de Stichtse Lustwarande van de zeventiende tot de twintigste eeuw'. Onderdeel van het proefschrift was een studie naar het ontstaan, de geschiedenis en de bewoning van Kasteel Broekhuizen. Het was geen eenvoudige opgave om daarvan een compleet beeld te geven want er was geen archief. "Dat was bij de brand, die in 1906 het kasteel in de as legde, volledig verloren gegaan. Toch wilde ik weten hoe alles in elkaar stak. Die wens was irrationeel, maar in de liefde - Peter de Greeff noemde dat zojuist al - is niets rationeel. Al speurend vielen de stukjes in elkaar. Ik hanteerde daarbij een methode die ik niet op de universiteit had geleerd: ik ging met het meetlint naar Broekhuizen en samen met De Greeff deden we ontdekkingen. Zo vonden we onder het grasveld de kwel van de oude vijver. Het is een fantastisch project geweest dat een pijler van mijn proefschrift heeft gevormd. Een periode is afgesloten, het boek is nu klaar. Dankzij Gerrit Heinen is het een kunstwerkje geworden."
Dat is absoluut niet overdreven, want het 132 pagina's en 73 afbeeldingen tellende boekje is een compact beschreven en met liefde vormgegeven document geworden. "Broekhuizen is een voorbeeld van een huis met park uit het eend van de achttiende eeuw, gebouwd en aangelegd volgens de nieuwste inzichten van die tijd. Huis en park vormen een eenheid en versterken elkaar. Zonder huis is de ziel van het park weg, zonder park is de setting van het huis en de bijgebouwen onbegrijpelijk en zonder particuliere bewoning wordt het huis een steriel decorstuk," besloot de schrijfster haar inleiding, waarna zij exemplaren van het boekje overhandigde aan bewoner Peter de Greeff, aan burgemeester mevrouw Feith en aan de directeur van de Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg Asselbergs.
De laatste besloot de rij sprekers: "Ik ben trots op mijn medewerkster Kitty, zoals haar koosnaam is. Veel buitenplaatsen zijn in handen van bedrijven en instellingen. Het boek onderstreept de betekenis van buitenplaatsen als pleisterplaats in het cultuurlandschap. Over cultuur aan de hand van natuur voeren we momenteel een discussie met Staatsbosbeheer. Dit boek strekt verder dan alleen maar wonen op een buitenplaats."
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Dutch master returning to glory days
Financial Times - Weekend 19/20 october 2002
When Peter de Greeff bought Broekhuizen from the Dutch government six years ago it no longer seemed to be one of the country’s outstanding stately homes.
The government had been using it as a research station, with a laboratory in the coach house and the administration in the main house. “The place was in terrible shape when we came. It was almost as if it was government practice to restore a building and then let it be for 40 or 50 years,” said de Greeff, president and chief executive officer of Computer Brokers Exchange, an information technology and brokerage group.
But there is no doubt the house at Leersum, between Arnhem and Utrecht and an hour from Amsterdam, now deserves the most fulsome accolades. Its front sports a magnificent columned portico, added in 1810 to an 18th century traditional Dutch big house and looks out over an 18th century English-style park.
Inside, more columns in the hall flank a double staircase leading to the state rooms on the first floor. At the back is a small terrace between house and lake, which is so close that the water reflects and illuminates the house, and the ducks paddle beneath the drawing room windows. It is a magical piece of juxtaposition, and quite unlike an English stately home where the lake is usually half a mile away from the house itself.
Broekhuizen sits in 143 acres, a considerable estate by Dutch property standards. The estate – most of which is owned by de Greeff – is mainly woods and water.
He is trying to put the park together again, as part of a plan to restore the whole property to its former glory. But in the meantime he has bought an outstanding 18th-century large house on the Keizersgracht in the heart of Amsterdam, which itself needs refurbishment.
He admits he is addicted to estates and old buildings, and likes working out plans for their restoration. As a former army officer and member of the Dutch special forces, he admires military precision in the work.
Hence his interest in Broekhuizen when it came up for sale. The government, he says, was looking for a family who could restore the house and other buildings. Accepting the challenge, he got to work at once on the garden and park. “There was no alternative, as permission for the buildings took two years. You must be very, very patient.”
He says the grounds, landscaped in an English Romantic style around 1800, are the only ones in the Netherlands that have everything – park, lakes, woods, walled garden, orangery, statuary and topiary, sun dial, coach house and a mausoleum. “It has the lot,” he declares.
There is even the Dutch version of the English ha-ha, so as not to break the view. Instead of a wall and ditch, a bank and dyke separate the garden from the park. As if to make up to the French, there were boxwood topiary fleurs de lys either side of the house. One of them survives together with two large stone sphinxes of the 18th century guarding the front of the house. De Greeff has busily replanted trees to add to the magnificent collection already on the estate.
There was talk a few years ago of filling in the ditch in the middle of the old formal garden to make a cricket field until the government vetoed the idea. De Greeff – a member of a “resistance family” – used to play cricket. Uncles of his were in the resistance and his mother helped Allied pilots who had been shot down get back to Britain.
The orangery and coach house have been restored, as well as a 16th-century pink brick farmhouse, the oldest surviving building at Broekhuizen. The first two buildings would make excellent offices and are ready for such a role. Or they could be separate large houses, both ample space for entertaining. The coach house has a huge central room where the carriages were parked. Upstairs, the former hayloft makes a lot of smaller rooms.
After spending Fl 12.5m on the orangery and over Fl 5.5m on the coach house, de Greeff would have tackled the main house, were it not for his imminent move to Amsterdam. A lot of the work needed is only on the surface, since the house was rebuilt in 1906 after a fire and is exceptionally sturdy, with concrete floors.
The rebuild generally followed the 1810 scheme, and addeda large bay off the library to form an enclosed belvedere-loggia with large windows looking on to the lake and the park.
The main rooms are rich in ornate plasterwork, including the four seasons on the landing in white on a pink ground. For the work now to complete the resurrection of Broekhuizen, the research and planning have all been done, and a grant would be available for restoration.
There is no VAT on maintenance and repairs for a listed building like this, and no stamp duty on purchase. And since it is in a protected area, it is unlikely the government would allow any roads or new houses nearby.
But the government will check the credentials of the buyer, as will de Greeff, to ensure the right person can finish the task he has started and enjoy living in one of the treasures of the Netherlands.
De Greeff looks forward to going back to city life, having lived in a loft in Amsterdam for five of six years in the middle of the captivating Jordaan area.
“The only thing I’ll miss will be the forest. But we also have a house at Ramatuelle outside St Tropez, in the middle of vineyards.” There they will still be able to catch a breath of the country.