University of Groningen Landscape and society in Twente & Utrecht Smeets, Elyze Agnes Charles

321 Pages·2017·9.9 MB·English

by  Elyze Smeets

University of Groningen

Landscape and society in Twente & Utrecht
Smeets, Elyze Agnes Charles
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Smeets, E. A. C. (2005). Landscape and society in Twente & Utrecht: a geography of Dutch country
estates, circa 1800-1950. [Thesis fully internal (DIV), Univ Leeds, University of Leeds].
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Download date: 17-03-2023
LANDSCAPE AND SOCIETY IN TWENTE & UTRECHT:
A GEOGRAPHY OF DUTCH COUNTRY ESTATES, CIRCA 1800-1950.

Elyze Agnes Charles Smeets

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

The University of Leeds
School of Geography

September 2005

The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own work and that
appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of
others.

This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and
that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper
acknowledgement.
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the School of Geography at the University of Leeds for funding this
research project and for its academic support. In particular, I would like to thank my supervisors
Robin Butlin and Martin Purvis for their advise, encouragement and critical discussions over the
last four years. It has truly been a wonderful experience working with such an amazing team.

Thanks also to the many people who have helped me with gathering information. The estate
owners in Utrecht and Twente for allowing me to visit their homes and go through their
personal archives. The archivists and librarians for making the search for documentary evidence
easier, particular the people at Kadaster Overijssel. The scholars of various disciplines for our
interesting discussions on historical geography and landscape aesthetics, especially Hans Renes
(my former supervisor at the University of Utrecht) and Adriaan Haartsen (my boss and
colleague at Bureau Lantschap).

I would like to thank my fellow students Alison and Hazel for the cups of tea and the talks about
geography, PhD’s, and life in general. Thanks for being such good friends.

To my family and friends, thank you for your friendship, encouragement and interest. Special
thanks to my parents Jos and Gerdie for always supporting me and believing in me. It is in my
childhood, travelling with you, Alexandra and Mervyn through the hills and valleys that I first
discovered my love for landscape and history.

I want to dedicate this work to my best friend and husband, Martijn. Thank you for always
being there for me, for keeping me calm in hectic times and most of all for your love.
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Abstract

The thesis presents new insights into the development, organisation and spatial distribution of
country estates established between 1800 and 1950 in the province of Utrecht and the region of
Twente in the Netherlands. During this time period numerous country estates were built: in
Utrecht almost 100 and in Twente over 80, the majority of which were built for newly wealthy
whose origins lay in commerce, finance and industry. In Utrecht the new landowners were
largely financial businessmen from Amsterdam, while in Twente the majority were textile
industrialists from the region itself.

The emergence of such a group of ‘nouveaux riches’ who chose to invest parts of their new
money in the acquisition of land was not confined to the Netherlands, but was apparent in many
western European countries, including Britain, Belgium and Germany. The study of Dutch
individuals thus represents a particular dimension of a broader change in European society
during the nineteenth century, a society that was increasingly marked by processes of
industrialisation and urbanisation. The thesis therefore incorporates an international comparison
between the textile industrialists in Twente and their counterparts in West Yorkshire, England.

Three key themes structure this thesis, namely ‘landownership’, ‘estate building’ and ‘landscape
design’. The first theme deals with who the new landowners were, what enabled them to invest
in land and what their motivations have been for such investments. The second theme focuses
on the spatial patterning of the new country estates and the manner in which they have been
established. The third theme is related to the use made of the land and how the new landowners
laid out their properties. Through a geographical approach this thesis aims to bring new insights
into the themes and reveal the ways in which they have influenced each other.

This geographical approach is largely based on Dutch and Anglo-American historical-
geographical traditions of landscape study, incorporating a variety of methods, techniques and
ways of seeing. This meant that the estate landscapes have been studied both as physical entities
that can be mapped and as representations of a culture group or individuals. As such the thesis
also presents a framework for future research on country estates.

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Contents

Acknowledgements i
Abstract ii
Contents iii
List of Tables viii
List of Figures ix
Abbreviations and Conversions xiii

Chapter 1. The Geography of Landownership and the Aesthetic Landscape
Introduction 1
1.1 Thesis Themes and Questions 3
1.2 Study Area 4
1.3 Intellectual Context: Landscape in Layers 6
Landscape as a Physical Entity 6
Landscapes of Meaning and Representation 11
Layers of Meaning 14
1.4 Thesis Structure 16

Chapter 2. Landownership, Estate Building and Garden Design
Introduction 19
2.1 Landed Estates and their Owners 19
Estate Building and the Changing Nature of Landowners 20
The Division of Wasteland 27
2.2 Garden Fashions in the Netherlands, 1750-1950 29
Aesthetic Geometry 30
The Desire for the ‘Natural’ 34
Return of Geometry 41
Summary & Conclusions 44

Chapter 3. Methodologies and Sources
Introduction 47
3.1 Cartographic Material
3.2 Archival Material 51
Estate Designs and Views 51
Photographs 53
Historical Printed Material 55
Personal Correspondence (Letters) 56
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Records of Hunting and Shooting 56
Estate Accounts 57
Tax Registers 57
3.3 The Cadastre, 1832 58
The use of the cadastral ledger in this research 59
3.4 Fieldwork 61
3.5 English Sources 61
3.6 Methodological Approaches 63
The use of GIS in historical geography 64
Conclusions 66

Chapter 4. Twente and Utrecht: An Historical-Geographical Overview
Introduction 68
4.1 Twente 68
Physical Setting 68
Agricultural Systems 70
The Marken of Twente and their Abolition 72
Castles and Country Estates 75
The Industrialisation of Twente 78
4.2 Utrecht 80
Physical Setting 80
Agricultural Systems 82
Communal lands and the division of the meenten 84
Castles and Country Estates 85
Summary & Conclusions 90

Chapter 5. The New Landed Elite
Introduction 92
5.1 The Emergence of New Money 92
5.2 Identifying the New Landed Elite 94
5.3 Origins and Characteristics 99
Geographical origins and local links 99
Sources and scales of wealth 100
Urban and rural connections 103
Motives for land investment 105
Relation to nobility 106
Intermarriages and social coherence 108
Summary & Conclusions 110
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Chapter 6. Continuity and Change in the Distribution of Country Estates
Introduction 112
6.1 New Country Estates from 1800 onwards 112
Existing Pattern of Landownership 117
Travel, Transport and Communication 120
The Physical Landscape 123
Land Availability and Privatisation of Common Land 125
Social Network 126
6.2 The Process of Creating an Estate 130
Purchasing an Existing Estate 131
The Purchase of Land and the Construction of a Temporary Building 133
The Purchase of Land and the Construction a Country House 136
The Transformation of a Landed Property Initially Acquired for
Industrial Use into a Recreational Retreat 137
Estate Subdivision and the Construction of New Properties 138
Combining Typologies In Practice 139
Case study: The Blijdenstein family 139
Summary & Conclusions 141

Chapter 7. The Aesthetics of Estate Landscapes
Introduction 144
7.1 Parks and Gardens: Adapting New Fashions 144
Case Study: Het Amelink, Lonneker/ Enschede 146
Case Study: Molenbosch, Zeist 148
Case Study: Huis te Maarn, Maarn 150
Case Study: Egheria, Oldenzaal 152
Case Study: De Boekel, Enschede 154
Case Study: De Hooge Vuursche, Baarn 156
Fashions at Nouveaux Riches Estates 158
Case Study: Weldam, Delden 159
Nouveaux riches vs. Nobility 160
7.2 Diffusing New Garden Fashions 161
Travel 162
Publications – guides and pattern books 164
Publications - text books 165
Publications – magazines 168
Exhibitions 171
7.3 The Pioneers: Professionals and Patrons 173
v
7.4 Designing a Region 176
Summary & Conclusions 181

Chapter 8. Leisure in the Landscape
Introduction 183
8.1 Experiencing Parks and Gardens 184
8.2 Aspects of Hunting and Shooting 187
8.3 Beauty and Utility 196
8.4 The Price of Taste 199
Summary & Conclusions 202

Chapter 9. Country Estates of Industrialists: An International Comparison
Introduction 204
9.1 The West Yorkshire Textile Industry 204
9.2 The New Landed Elite of West Yorkshire 207
9.3 The Distribution Pattern of New Country Estates, 1800-1950 212
Travel, Transport and Communication 213
Existing Landownership and Land Availability 216
The Physical Landscape 218
9.4 Purchasing Existing Estates 220
9.5 Leisure in the Landscape 222
9.6 Aesthetics of the Estate Landscape 225
Summary & Conclusions 231

Chapter 10. Conclusions
10.1 Comparisons between Utrecht and Twente 234
Landownership 234
Estate building 236
Landscape design 238
10.2 Reflection on the Intellectual Framework 240

Appendices
I: The New Country Estates of Twente, 1800-1950, with their owners and date
of establishment. 243
II: The New Country Estates of Utrecht, 1800-1950, with their owners and date
of establishment. 246
III: The New Country Estates of West Yorkshire, 1800-1950, with their owners
and date of establishment. 250
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IV: The Commissions of Professional Designers at Nouveaux Riches Estates (i.e.
created 1800-1950) in the Province of Utrecht and the Region of Twente, the
Netherlands. 253
V: Time Lines of the Main Garden Styles and Designers in the Netherlands,
1800-1950. 257
VI: Time Lines of the Major Phases in Industry for the Netherlands
(specifically Twente) and England (specifically West Yorkshire) 258

Bibliography and other sources
I: Interviews, conversations and meetings 259
II: General Dutch archival sources 260
III: Archival sources for Twente 263
IV: Archival sources for Utrecht 271
V: Archival sources for West Yorkshire 279
VI: Internet and cd-rom sources 284
VII: Published primary and secondary literature 285

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List of Tables
Table Page

3.1 Summary of key cartographic sources 47
3.2 The ten greatest individual landowners in Twente, 1832 60
4.1 The number of marke divisions in the Province of Overijssel and
Twente, 1819-1879 74
5.1 The new landed elite of Utrecht with source of money and geographical origin 98
5.2 The new landed elite of Twente with source of money and geographical origin 99
8.1 The amount of game killed annually by Helmich Blijdenstein, for the years
1884-1904 193
9.1 A sample of West Yorkshire’s new landed elite 208

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