Chapter I: Part 1

OLD HOUSES IN HOLLAND

TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS
BY SYDNEY R. JONES, WITH
SOME ADDITIONAL PLATES IN
COLOUR AFTER OTHER ARTISTS

Edited by Charles Holme.

MCMXIII
"THE STUDIO" LTD.
LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK

PREFATORY NOTE

The Editor desires to express his indebtedness to the following, who have rendered valuable assistance in the preparation of this volume: Mr. A. Pit, Director of the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst, and other officials of the Rijks Museum, Amsterdam; Messrs. P. C. J. A. Boeles and D. Draaisma, of the Friesch Museum, Leeuwarden; Dr. B. van Rijswijk, Secretary of the Vereeniging Oud-Dordrecht; Mr. W. Polman Kruseman, Secretary of the Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen, Middelburg; and the Directors of the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery, and the Wallace Collection, London.

ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR

After--

Pieter de Hooch "Interior of a Dutch House" Frontispiece ,, ,, ,, "Interior with Woman peeling Apples" Opposite page 16 ,, ,, ,, "Dutch Interior" ,, ,, 44 Johannes Vermeer "The Letter" ,, ,, 66 Catherine Bisschop-Swift "The Mirror" ,, ,, 80 Sydney R. Jones "Nijmegen, Gelderland" ,, ,, 98 Baron J. A. Hendrik Leys "Seventeenth-Century Dutch Interior" ,, ,, 130 Sydney R. Jones "Hindeloopen Room at the Frisian Museum, Leeuwarden" ,, ,, 140

Enamelled Earthenware Tiles (early 18th century) Opposite pages 136 & 138 Delft Dishes (18th century) ,, ,, 144 & 146

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introduction 1

Illustrations:--

Breda, North Brabant 5
Monnikendam, North Holland 7
Veere, Zeeland 9
Nijmegen, Gelderland (dated 1544) 11
Dordrecht, South Holland 13
Leiden, Rhijnland (dated 1612) 15
Haarlem, North Holland 17
Brigdamme, Zeeland 18

I.--The Development of Domestic Architecture 19

Illustrations:--

Groningen (1509) 21
Boxmeer, North Brabant 22
Gorinchem (Gorcum), South Holland 23
Breda, North Brabant 24
Middelburg, Zeeland 25
Franeker, Friesland 26
Dordrecht, South Holland 27
Dordrecht (dated 1702) 28
Haarlem, North Holland 29
Spaarwoude, North Holland 30
St. Laurens, near Middelburg, Zeeland 31
Haarlem, North Holland 32
Alkmaar, North Holland (dated 1609) 33
Hoorn, North Holland (dated 1612) 34
Middelburg, Zeeland 35
Hoorn, North Holland 36
,, ,, ,, 37
Woudrichem, North Brabant 38
Leiden, Rhijnland 39
Middelburg, Zeeland 40
Nijmegen, Gelderland (dated 1606) 41
Zutphen, Gelderland 42
,, ,, (dated 1547) 43
Veere, Zeeland 44
Haarlem, North Holland 45
Delft, South Holland 46
Haarlem, North Holland (dated 1637) 47
Alkmaar, North Holland (dated 1673) 48
Franeker, Friesland (dated 1634) 49
Corbel from Dordrecht 50
Mosaic brick and stonework from Dordrecht 50
Dordrecht, South Holland (dated 1608) 51
Workum, Friesland (dated 1663) 52
Arnhem, Gelderland (dated 1642) 53
Amsterdam--Rembrandt's House (dated 1606) 54
Zwolle, Overijssel--The Guild Hall (dated 1571) 55
Vlissingen (Flushing), Zeeland (dated 1614) 56
Dordrecht, South Holland (dated 1626) 57
Kampen, Overijssel (dated 1631) 58
,, ,, (dated on dormers 1634, 1626, 1730, 1630
and 1619) 59
Groningen--The "Goudkantoor" (dated 1635) 60
Groningen (1661) 61
Franeker, Friesland (dated 1662) 62
's Hertogenbosch, North Brabant (dated 1671) 63
Iron Wall-tie from Alkmaar 64
Alkmaar, North Holland (dated 1672) 65
's Gravenhage (The Hague), South Holland--"T'Goutsmits Keur
Huijs" 66
Velsen, North Holland 67
Spaarwoude, North Holland 68
Zutphen, Gelderland 69
Halfweg, North Holland 70
,, ,, ,, --showing construction of farmhouse 70
Spaarndam, North Holland 71
Schooten, North Holland 72
The Ferry House, near Gennep, North Brabant 73
Beek, Gelderland 74
Brigdamme, Zeeland (dated 1622) 75
Beek, Gelderland 76
Bloemendaal, North Holland 77
Broek, North Holland 78
,, ,, ,, 79
Well at Beugen, North Brabant 80
Beek, Gelderland 81
Bridge at Zuiderwoude, North Holland (dated 1799) 82

II.--Exterior Features--Doors, Windows, Gables and Ornaments 83

Illustrations:--

Woudrichem, North Brabant (dated 1611) 85
Leeuwarden, Friesland 86
Delft, South Holland 87
,, ,, ,, (dated 1547) 88
Haarlem, North Holland (dated 1632) 89
Leeuwarden, Friesland (dated 1675) 89
Leiden, Rhijnland (dated 1612) 89
,, ,, (dated 1615) 90
Vlissingen (Flushing), Zeeland 91
Marssum, Friesland (dated 1713) 92
Kampen, Overijssel (dated 1665) 93
Arnhem, Gelderland 94
Wooden Door, with iron fittings, from Dordrecht 95
,, ,, with carved lintel, from Haarlem 95
Leiden, Rhijnland (dated 1655) 96
Veere, Zeeland--The "Scotch House" 97
Wooden Window-frame, with iron fittings and lead glazing, from
Dordrecht 98
Window Shutter from Velsen 98
,, ,, ,, Nijmegen 99
,, ,, ,, Leiden 99
,, ,, ,, Dordrecht 99
,, ,, ,, Haarlem 100
,, ,, ,, Monnikendam 100
Zwolle, Overijssel 101
Kampen, Overijssel (dated 1626) 102
,, ,, (dated 1634) 102
Marssum, Friesland 102
Gorinchem (Gorcum), South Holland (dated 1566) 103
Kampen, Overijssel 104
Vlissingen (Flushing), Zeeland 105
Monnikendam, North Holland 106
Haarlem, North Holland 106
Dordrecht, South Holland (dated 1523) 107
Arnhem, Gelderland 108
Haarlem, North Holland 109
Leiden, Rhijnland 109
Amsterdam, North Holland 110
Wood details from Gelderland and South Holland 111
Zutphen, Gelderland 112
Hoorn, North Holland 112
Franeker, Friesland (curved gables dated 1573) 113
Carved stone lettering from Haarlem 114
,, ,, panel from Franeker 114
,, ,, ,, ,, Zutphen (dated 1615) 115
,, ,, ,, ,, Sneek 115
,, ,, ,, ,, Haarlem 115
,, ,, ,, ,, Workum 115
,, ,, ,, ,, Middelburg (house dated 1590) 116
,, ,, ,, ,, Haarlem 116
Woudrichem, North Brabant 117
Brick and Stone Mosaic from Zwolle 118
,, ,, ,, ,, Nijmegen 118
,, ,, ,, ,, Woudrichem 118
Zwolle, Overijssel (dated 1609) 119
Detail of Diaper-work from Franeker 120
Workum, Friesland 120
Iron Wall-ties 121
,, Date-sign from St. Anna, near Nijmegen 122
,, Wall-tie from Nijmegen 122
,, Weather-vane from Broek 122
,, Terminal from Middelburg 122
Lead Spout-heads from Zutphen 122
Oval Window with Stanchion-bar, from Leiden 122
Iron Wall-tie from Beugen 122
,, Door-furniture from Middelburg 123
,, Door-knocker 123
,, Weather-vane from Hees 124
Lead Finials from Hoorn 124

III.--Interiors and Decoration 125

Illustrations:--

Brass Candelabrum from Haarlem 127
Seventeenth-century Room from Dordrecht, South Holland 128
,, ,, ,, Leeuwarden, Friesland 129
Fireplace in the Bricklayers' Guild, Amsterdam 130
,, from Maastricht, Limburg (dated 1510) 131
Cast-iron Fireback from Leiden 132
Cast-iron Fireback from Nijmegen 132
Fireplace from Middelburg, Zeeland 133
Cast-iron Fireback from Middelburg 134
,, ,, ,, Jisp 134
Fireplace from The Westerwold, Groningen 135
Interior of a wooden house at Marken, North Holland 136
Brass Chimney-crane from Leeuwarden 136
Hindeloopen Room at the Frisian Museum, Leeuwarden 137
Carved Oak Panel from Zwolle (16th century) 138
Iron Hangers, Fire-irons and Fire-standard 139
Oak Panelling from Leiden 140
Hindeloopen Room at the Frisian Museum, Leeuwarden 141
Carved Door from Groningen (17th century) 142
Iron Lock-plate (16th century) 143
,, ,, (dated 1587) 143
,, Lock and Bolt 143
,, Door-handle and Escutcheon 143
Carved Door of Wall-cupboard, with pierced and engraved iron
fittings 143
Wall-cupboard with iron lock and hinges (16th century) 144
Carved Table from Edam 145
,, Cabinet from Haarlem 145
Table from Amsterdam 146
Wrought-iron Stair-Railing from Zierikzee 146
Brass Warming-pan (dated 1602) 147
Wickerwork Coffer with brass mounts (18th century) 147
Brass Fire-side set (18th century) 147
,, Candlestick ( ,, ,, ) 148
,, Tea-caddy ( ,, ,, ) 148
,, Pastille-burner 148
,, Foot-warmer (dated 1733) 148
,, Lantern (18th century) 148
Corridor in "St. Pietershofje," Hoorn, North Holland 149
Tiled Fireplace from Volendam, North Holland 150
,, ,, ,, Marken, North Holland 151
Interior of a wooden house at Marken, North Holland 152

INTRODUCTION

It is in the old towns of Holland that the architectural expression of the Dutch people is to be sought. Theirs was an intimate and human architecture, concerned with everyday events, and it developed out of the civil and domestic life. Many of the towns continue to be busy and prosperous, and new buildings here and there crowd in upon the picturesque groups of houses that for centuries have clustered round the great churches and market-places: in others, the active days of commerce are over, the merchants come no more, and the streets and waterways are quiet. But all Dutch towns having any pretension to age possess, to a wonderful degree, what may be termed an old-world atmosphere. Much of their charm, it is true, is due to the rivers and canals that encircle and intersect them in all directions, imparting a sense of quaintness and novelty; but it is the extraordinary number of old buildings still existing, unchanged in form since the days when they were erected and mellowed by ages of sun and rain, that ever appeal to the eye and imagination. The fantastic gables and red roofs, above which rise slender spires and belfries surmounted by leaden flèches and wrought vanes, together with the waterways and canal life, the windmills, and changing skies, are as characteristic now as when the masters of the great Dutch School of painting were living and working. Such scenes were to them inspiration; to picture the intimate events associated was their delight. If the painters have gone--and with them the arquebusiers and governors and burgomasters--the gables, the sunlit courts, and many other familiar features remain.

The peculiar geographical conditions that have always existed in Holland have affected in no small degree the development of the land and the temperament of the people. Most of the country is below sea level. Behind the dunes and dykes the sea threatens inundation; the fear of accident by flood has kept the nation watchful and in perpetual war with its ancient enemy. The influence of this natural check has been far-reaching. It has produced the system of canals, determined the character of the landscape, made accordant life and work, method, regularity and order, and brought philosophy and fortitude to the national mind. In the domain of building, as in other spheres, water has been a powerful underlying agent affecting the evolution of style, just as the mountains, forests and deserts of other countries have imparted distinction to architecture.

Side by side with the external conditions imposed by Nature, conditions that, if accepted, might well be expected to have produced an attitude of extreme lack of initiative in those living amongst them, the Dutch have ever been an enterprising people. The same spirit that defied and conquered the inroads of the sea characterised their dealings in the domain of commerce. Trade was to them the great business of life. From very early times, and continuing for a long period, the prosperity of the Low Countries was foremost in Europe. The towns became centres of busy and pulsative life, the homes of virile civil and domestic communities. Many old buildings still existing, town halls, weigh houses, trade and guild halls, warehouses and merchants' premises, bear witness to those strenuous days. An architecture in close touch with the events of the times developed through, and by reason of the successes achieved by industry and sustained advances of conquest and colonization.

The phase of domestic art which is reviewed in this volume was essentially the expression of a nation urgently concerned with the material, matter-of-fact side of everyday life, and bore close kindred to its needs, its aspirations and its achievements; it was corporeal rather than spiritual in aspect, reflective of the market-place, the fireside and the home. And while the continuous building tradition of certain other countries was allied to ecclesiasticism, or was a movement instigated by the aristocracy, in Holland it was democratic in general trend, an art bound up in the interests of the people and existing for their good and welfare. It was urban rather than rural in its principles. Unlike the English growth, where the native building art developed vigorously and lingered longest in the countryside--as many an old village, manor-house or farm will demonstrate--the equivalent vernacular Dutch development was pre-eminently of the towns, and trade was the influence that gave it life. In a country notable for its manufactures and commercial activities men congregated together for mutual gain. A sturdy race they were, unimpressionable, but kindly and charitable, and their comfortable homes were in keeping with their temperament.

To better appreciate the course of architectural development, it will be well to briefly cite the main circumstances connected with these towns and with the country's history. Records of Dutch towns prior to the twelfth century are scanty, although at that time orderly government had begun to develop. Then followed the municipal charters, many dating from the thirteenth century. These charters were granted by the feudal lords to the townspeople and secured to them certain rights and protection in return for taxation and levies; justice was administered by various governing bodies and magistrates, and the municipal finances were properly supervised. There thus grew up a strong communal movement which was steadily developed and strengthened. Then it was that the cities began their era of great prosperity and each became practically self-governing and semi-independent. Revenue was derived from the river commerce and markets, over-sea trading, and from the industries which were fostered. So powerful did they become, so energetic was their municipal life, so well organised their trade, that these cities came to be reckoned, together with the neighbouring towns of Flanders, the most prosperous and wealthy in the world. As time went on the chief cities became members of the Hanseatic League, which influential association embraced trading colonies in places as far apart as London, Visby on the island of Gotland, Novgorod the Great in Russia, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Kampen on the Zuider Zee. Through the impetus of this remarkable movement, the long-continued commercial relations between England and Holland were established. About the middle of the thirteenth century Hanse merchants settled in London, obtained privileges from Henry III., founded the Steelyard, and there developed a flourishing trade. The intercourse between the two countries was very considerable, and it was of the utmost importance to the Netherlands that nothing should happen to weaken their good relations with England. For England was then the principal wool-producing country of Europe, the only place, in fact, able to supply it in large quantities, and the men of the Low Countries, famed above all for their skill as weavers and depending upon the woollen industry for their greatest wealth, were eager buyers of English wool in the raw state. In the fifteenth century, through dissension and war, the cities of Holland were ejected from the Hanseatic League; but the Dutch, with their fine ships and business acumen, continued to prosper and carried their conquests by trade into far-distant lands.

It was while at the height of their material success that the provinces of Holland came under the dominion of the house of Burgundy. The peculiar independent constitution of the cities promoted rivalry between them, rather than a common national interest which would have been best for the preservation of their just rights. They were heavily taxed and oppressed and were continually at variance with the ruling power, fighting for the redress of their grievances. By the first half of the sixteenth century the kingdom of the Netherlands had passed to the Emperor Charles V., King of Spain, and Philip, his son, inherited his father's throne. He thereby became monarch of vast territories. Philip determined to utterly subjugate the provinces and carried out a policy of relentless persecution. The people rebelled, brutal punishment followed, and they became victims of the worst excesses of the Inquisition. Deeds of cruelty, tyranny and murder, almost unparalleled in history, were enacted. In those dark days arose that great champion of the people, "William the Silent," Prince of Orange, the "father of his fatherland." Intent on defending the liberties of the nation, he gathered around him a company of gallant spirits, and, principally at his own expense, commenced what at first appeared to be a hopeless struggle. But early victories, hardly won, roused a cowed populace to action. The nation embarked upon the memorable Eighty Years' War, which resulted in the Spanish yoke being overthrown and the founding of the Dutch Republic. William was basely assassinated at Delft in 1584, and Maurice, his second son, succeeded him as Stadtholder. He was ambitious, shrewd, and skilled in the arts of war, and under his rule, and that of his brother Frederick Henry, who succeeded him in 1625, the fortunes of the Dutch gradually rose high. Through times of trial and suffering, hardships endured and conquests won, they emerged valorous and strong, a nation of heroes. Triumphs of arms by land and sea, successes of the merchant fleets and navigators who explored remote parts of the world, the founding of colonies, and ingenuity on the part of the workers in home manufactures, characterised a notable period of great prosperity; the Dutch became supreme in trade, chief rulers of the sea, and accumulated vast wealth. As the seventeenth century advanced commercial welfare continued to increase. Admirals Tromp and De Ruyter swept the seas, gaining brilliant naval victories; in 1667 the safety of London itself was threatened by the appearance of the Dutch fleet in the Thames. But the mastery of the sea eventually passed to England and from that time the fortunes of the Dutch declined. The election of William III.--who had married Princess Mary, daughter of the Duke of York--to the English throne in 1689 marked the close of Holland's greatest days.

Early Dutch secular architecture is in the spirit of the late Gothic style. The most valuable monuments of that period are the civic buildings which herald a time when public life--as opposed to ecclesiastical--assumed an importance and dignity capable of being symbolized in brick and stone; when power acquired by trade found expression in its own distinctive forms, and the wealthy burghers of the towns erected municipal buildings which stand for all time as the embodiment of their ideals. Such is the Town Hall at Middelburg by Ant. Keldermans the Younger, one of that famous family of architects of Malines. It is a stone erection of fine proportions, enriched with a wealth of detail, sculptured figures, sunk panelling and many turrets; tiers of dormers break up the roof surface and the whole is surmounted by a noble and boldly conceived tower. At Veere, not far distant, is a smaller example (opposite) built in 1474 by another member of the Keldermans family. While owning some similarity to its fellow at Middelburg, the treatment is simpler, but the proportions are exquisite, and the peculiar grace of the belfry is outstanding. The characteristic richness of surface decoration which was then common may also be seen on the sandstone façade of the "Gemeenlandshuis" at Delft, with its elaborate traceries and parapet belonging to the early sixteenth century. The aforementioned are stone buildings and betray the influence of French Gothic, but the especially individual Netherlandish interpretation of Gothic was developed in the brick architecture. Brickwork was much employed and the nature of the material--not so responsive as stone in the hands of the craftsmen--limited the possibilities of ornamental treatment. Detail had to be simplified and adapted to the means available for carrying it out; the example from Nijmegen (p. 11), dated 1544, furnishes an instance of how it was handled. It is in this early brickwork that the germs of the Dutch transitional Renaissance style are to be traced; its root principles were derived not only from the public buildings, but from the churches also--vast piles whose bold masses and ornaments were logically developed out of the material, and whose millions of little bricks, jointed together, stand as impressive memorials of patient labour.

Mediæval domestic work followed in the wake of the civic. Not many examples remain. Of those that have survived most belong to the late fifteenth or the first half of the sixteenth century. The current forms of the period were employed--panelling and projecting surface decoration, more often in brickwork than stone; arched window-heads ornamented with tracery; circular brick turrets surmounted by conical roofs; stepped gables having pinnacles rising from the copings; steep roofs pierced by dormers; and the somewhat florid, rich, but carefully wrought detail.

In contrast to the scarcity of Gothic domestic buildings, those of the Transitional period--from Gothic to Renaissance--are very numerous. Many examples are to be found in the old towns where rows of houses, much out of the perpendicular, rise from the canalsides and paved roadways. They are narrow and very high and are surmounted by gables which are often of fantastic shape and curious outline, picturesque from the draughtsman's point of view and full of subject for the painter. Strange though it now seems, and quite beyond reasonable explanation, the greatest art movement that Holland has ever known flourished at the close of those troublous times when she was at war with Spain. It was then that the painters, with startling suddenness, came into their full powers, and Hals, Rembrandt, Van der Helst, Gerard Dou, Paul Potter, Jan Steen, Ruysdael and De Hooch, with a host of brilliant companions, followed in quick succession. They created a new art, a school of painting with original conceptive views and unrivalled executive skill. Contemporaneously with this artistic activity developed the peculiarly specific Dutch style of domestic architecture. Existing examples prove how energetically the building craft was then carried on, and show how its characteristics were matured during the closing years of the sixteenth century and onwards through the century following. Many of the Town Halls and Weigh Houses, which set the fashion for the private dwellings, are of this time; Leiden 1598, Haarlem 1602, Nijmegen 1612, Bolsward 1614, Workum 1650, and numerous others.

It was in the sixteenth century that the influence of the Renaissance gained ground in Holland, and with it came new canons and new impulses, revived interest in classical literature and art. And in connection with it, it is significant to note that Erasmus, one of the most distinguished of the Humanists, was born at Rotterdam in 1466; during a life of much travel and varied residence he was often in the Low Countries, prosecuting his own self-culture and advocating his doctrines.

The Transitional period lasted long and the buildings associated with it in many ways resemble those of England, erected in the style known as Elizabethan. The real significance of the revolutionary Renaissance art was not grasped or understood. The Gothic form of house long held its own and to it was added the heavy Dutch interpretation of the newer style, a rendering showing French rather than Italian feeling. But nevertheless, however well or ill applied, the use of Classic motifs in architecture became a firmly-established and general practice.

But the great changes in religious and intellectual thought that transpired during the sixteenth century did not so quickly influence the domain of architecture as might be supposed. No sudden breach with the inherited style occurred, although the ancient life and faith were passing. The Gothic tradition, which had been handed down from generation to generation, continued on. The national temperament was opposed to innovation, and the Dutch people clung to that which had been evolved through long years of experiment; they were unwilling to give up those forms that had been satisfying to their forefathers. So the new fashion in architecture was at first but tardily accepted and made little headway against the olden practices. Early tentative efforts were confined to novelties of detail introduced in gable ornaments, window-heads and doorways; the traditional forms of building remained unaltered, and fresh types of ornament were simply added to them for no very definite or intelligent reason. As time went on the Renaissance influence gradually became more established, but there was evidently no unanimity of opinion on the merits of it. Some looked upon it with favour; others viewed it with suspicion and preferred to keep to that which had served so well for preceding generations. As a consequence, the development was not uniform throughout the country. Thus a house at Alkmaar, bearing the late date of 1673, has arched window-heads and step gable terminated with a pointed arch quite in the Gothic manner; while a façade erected at Zwolle one hundred and two years earlier unmistakably betrays its Classic origin by the details with which it is adorned.

After a changeful period, during which the architectural impulses were halting between the acceptance of the new and the retention of the old, men who directed public taste eventually adopted what they understood to be the Renaissance ideas. Behind them was a strong tide of inherited tradition which continued to flow on. To it they brought their own interpretation of the new movement, and the two forces ran side by side for many years.

Foremost among the earlier architects who turned to classicism for fresh inspiration were Lieven de Key, Hendrik de Keyzer and Cornelius Danckerts. Hendrik de Keyzer was born at Utrecht in 1565 and died at Amsterdam in 1621. He was appointed architect to the city of Amsterdam in 1594, and his name is connected with buildings both in that town and elsewhere. One of his most notable works is the monument erected at Delft to the memory of William the Silent. Cornelius Danckerts was associated with de Keyzer and lived from 1561 to 1631. Born at Ghent about the year 1560, Lieven de Key worked principally at Haarlem and Leiden. He was the author of the celebrated Meat Market at Haarlem, a remarkable building which has evoked both praise and disparagement; it was completed in 1603. He was responsible for the design of other civic buildings as well as numerous private dwellings. Such men as these had their followers and founded schools of architecture in the places of their professional activities. There was thus a vigorous body of men working at Haarlem; while Amsterdam, which had become virtually the political and commercial capital as well as the centre of the arts, had its own assembly of architects who were particularly energetic in the city and exercised great influence in the adjacent districts. The results of their accomplishments are still apparent, and the many large and sober gabled houses suggest to the imagination the comparative splendour of seventeenth-century Amsterdam.

The buildings of this period are quaint and charming. If somewhat lacking in serious architectonic qualities, they are inseparably connected with the national sentiments; they stand as lasting evidences of human emotion expressed through the medium of brick and stone. The streets lined with ancient houses are witnesses of a great past, and bring to remembrance those strong and earnest men who honoured hearth and threshold and fought to save their fatherland from tyranny and threatened ruin. Above all, the structures bear upon them the impress of the intellectual life which was concerned with their production. The work itself is thoroughly Dutch in character, full of suggestion, and the materials are well handled. That of the early Renaissance is the best, and in it the two streams of thought--mediæval and classic--are seen harmoniously blended. A good example from Leiden, by Lieven de Key, is illustrated opposite; signs of the new influence are obvious in the details, yet it has the traditional form of stepped gable; while there is a freedom of handling discernible in the disposition of the ground floor features which was dictated by convenience rather than symmetrical arrangement. All the work, however, was not so reasonable as this. Gables of extraordinary and curious outline began to appear, remarkable certainly for fertility of invention, but often lacking in delicacy and restraint. Isolated stone ornaments, unconnected with constructive principles, were applied to vacant wall spaces. They were decorated with lion-heads, armorial bearings, strapwork, cartouches, winged heads and panels in relief, all vigorously carved. Many of the subjects were seemingly derived from published pattern books and decorative designs, and lack that independence of conception which distinguishes all inspired craftsmanship.

Evidence goes to prove that the men who made the designs for the buildings had not yet become detached from the building trades. They were not architects within the present meaning of that term. They were described as masons, stonecutters, and the like, and no doubt were master-builders who, in addition to supplying the design, had a personal hand in the execution of the work of their own particular craft. The idea that a trained director should conceive the work as a whole, and marshal all the supplementary arts to proper subjugation, had not yet been evolved. Architecture as a separate force was not recognised.

Results automatically grew out of the united efforts of the sculptors, bricklayers, carpenters and masons who were engaged on the same production. So de Key, in addition to acting as a designer, was the city mason of Haarlem; H. de Keyzer was sculptor to the city of Amsterdam; and these are typical instances of the conditions then prevailing. It is also not surprising to find in this country, where government by municipalities was so well developed, that the architects were often official servants of the towns. Two such are mentioned above; Dryfhout was town architect of Middelburg, and Ambrosius van Hanenberch held a similar position at 's Hertogenbosch. [1] The demand for qualified men to protect and guide the public artistic needs was appreciated, a wise and excellent practice from which present-day authorities in England might well take a lesson.

With the advancing seventeenth century came a keener desire for the employment of purer forms of Renaissance art. Architects turned their thoughts to the Italian ideal, which they modified, yet preserved in its essential characteristics. Chief among the exponents of the developed style were Jacob van Campen and Phillippus Vinckboons, both of Amsterdam; and Pieter Post of Haarlem. The massive Town Hall of Amsterdam--now the Royal Palace--by van Campen, is one of the most important buildings of this period. It was erected between the years 1648 and 1655. But the severe classic ideas, directing towards uniformity and symmetrical arrangements, were never really at home, nor did they displace the weakening influence of inherited tradition. In the general mass of work the Dutch national genius continued to assert itself. Up to the time when the native architecture became devoid of character and personality, the houses and trade buildings in which the people lived and worked--even if of strange appearance or sometimes fantastic beyond description--retained an unmistakable flavour of the vernacular and owned something of that playfulness and quaint invention that were the heritage of mediæval times.

It is fitting to conclude this Introduction by referring to the effect of Dutch upon English architecture. For our style of domestic building has in the past owed something to knowledge gained from the Low Countries; details have been derived from the Dutch and their practices adopted. Most obviously the influence is to be seen in the Eastern counties, although it penetrated more or less throughout the country; Staffordshire can show it as well as Norfolk, Wiltshire as well as Kent. To those men of the Netherlands who early engaged in English commerce the germs of this influence are to be traced. Not that many of these foreigners were actively connected with the building trades, but, during a long period of trading intercourse and settlement by merchants and artisans, they, as a matter of course, left distinct impressions of their own ideas. Onward from the fourteenth century the influx of Flemings and Dutchmen into England was considerable and the reasons for their coming various. Apart from the traders, skilled artisans were encouraged to settle for the purpose of improving the home manufactures. Oppression, too, was responsible for many immigrants; to cite an instance, thousands of people left Holland when the harsh Duke of Alva, acting for Philip of Spain, was in 1567 appointed commander of the forces, and numbers of them found refuge in England. But the presence of foreigners such as these, most of whom were not engaged in the building crafts, had only an indirect effect upon the local architecture. It was the imported artificers, coming from Germany as well as the Netherlands, who brought a new development to English building. "Throughout the reign of Elizabeth," writes Professor Blomfield, "their influence was in the air and predominant." The results of it are obvious in work then erected, notably in the long series of country houses with strapwork ornament, peculiar decoration of porches and fireplaces, and much patterned woodwork. Again, with the advent of Dutch William to the English throne, further new features were introduced and they are especially traceable in the admirable brickwork of the Queen Anne style. But the lasting and altogether good effect of Dutch influence was on traditional, rather than academic architecture, on those quiet and unpretentious buildings of the countryside. Here the foreign motives were almost imperceptibly blended with those existing, neither suddenly nor inharmoniously. A feature was added here, a detail there, yet the work remained truly English in character. Old villages can yet show buildings that bear upon them traces of an alien hand, or embody ideas drawn from other than local sources of inspiration. Such are the East Kentish cottages at Sandwich, Ickham, Reading Street and Sarre; the halls and manor-houses of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, with corbie-stepped and curved gables; the high brick barns of the Eastern counties; and endless picturesque groupings of certain distinction that exist up and down the land. The industrious settlers from over the water certainly brought something to our traditional architecture, gave it qualities that helped to make it what it was. And when they came to erect their dwellings on foreign soil, they cherished the memory of their own country, and turned their thoughts to home and to the houses on the tree-lined streets and waterways of Holland.

DIVISION I

THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

The only really abundant building materials in Holland were bricks. Stone was available in limited quantities, but not readily so. Brick-earths there were in plenty, and brick-building has been practised continuously from the dawn of Dutch architecture to the present day. The inhabitants, after long and intimate association, became very proficient in the use of bricks, skilful in applying them, and apt to quickly realize the possibilities afforded by this material. There is, therefore, a great deal of old work of exceptional interest which is, in addition, valuable for the suggestions it presents.

The creation and development of an architectural style, depending upon brickwork as the medium for its execution, call into being considerable powers of ingenuity. For the limitations of bricks are definite and circumscribed; the unit is small and its size not subject to variation. Moreover, enrichment can only be obtained by careful disposition and arrangement of the units, and the almost unlimited scope possessed by stone, wood or plaster--both in respect to size of parts and effects of surface decoration--is nearly non-existent. Difficulties such as these have to be realised and overcome, but good results are not easily secured. The preconceived ideas in the mind, the general proportions, and the disposition of features, are governed to a degree by the nature of the building material. And for these reasons, the bonding of the walling, colour arrangements, width and finish of the mortar joints, and the precise manner of forming details, all contribute markedly to the ultimate appearance of the whole. Good brickwork depends, even more than other forms of building, upon a complete understanding of the capabilities of the medium; skill in manipulating it is secondary only to capacity for design.

It was in the use of bricks that the Dutch were especially successful. Qualified by experience gained through years of experiment, their achievements were dexterous and often daring. They were thoroughly at home with brickwork, alive to its restrictions as well as its possibilities, and they handled it in a spontaneous and reasonable way. All the features and details of some buildings had to be suitably designed for execution in this not very pliable material--gables (page 21), windows, doorways (shown above), decoration, mouldings and traceries. Problems such as these, definitely existing, were satisfactorily solved. The craftsmen thought in brickwork, as it were, and forms were more or less dictated by the means available for carrying them out. Not that stone was ignored; on the contrary, it was doubtless used when it could be obtained, as our illustrations plainly show. Thus, it was employed not only for ornamental details but often for the entire structures. Wood had its uses too, as may be seen in the half-timbered houses at Dordrecht or the wooden-fronted ones at Gorinchem (Gorcum), illustrated opposite; and plaster entered into the construction of many country buildings. But the prevailing conditions brought about an advanced development of brickwork and through it the vital building tradition was evolved.

The old bricks themselves were particularly well shaped and the proportion of height to length gave a long and narrow appearance. How narrow they actually were will be realised when it is stated that it not infrequently happens we find them no more than 1-1/4 inches high. Some of the sizes noted are 1-1/4 inches by 6-3/4 inches to 7 inches at Workum; 1-1/2 inches by 7 inches at Breda (page 24); 1-1/2 inches by 8-1/2 inches, and 1-3/4 inches by 7 inches to 8-1/2 inches at Haarlem; and 2 inches by 9 inches at 's Hertogenbosch. They were laid with five, six, or seven courses to the foot, and sometimes the door and window openings were formed with smaller sized bricks than those used for the main walling. It was only rarely that comparatively large bricks were employed. Some may be seen in the walls of the old Abbey at Middelburg, and "Thvis van Leeninge" (page 25), situated in the same town, has bricks measuring 2-1/2 inches by 9-1/2 inches; while a building at Franeker, in Friesland, is carried out in unusually large bricks, which vary in size from 3 inches to 3-1/2 inches by 10-1/2 inches to 11-1/2 inches. The joints are widest in the older work and were either finished with dark mortar, no lighter in tone than the bricks, or were raked out and pointed up with light mortar. The bond almost universally adopted was that known by the name of "English" and not, as is often erroneously stated, "Flemish." English bond consists of alternate courses of headers and stretchers; that is to say, one course of bricks, all placed longways, upon a course all laid endways, and so continuously up the wall. Flemish bond, rarely to be seen in Holland, has alternate headers and stretchers in every course. Dutch brickwork shows a wide range of colouring. Some is very dark and of a purple tint; some is yellow, particularly in the neighbourhood of Dordrecht; red bricks there are in every town; while at Breda they gradate from lemon yellow to a delicate salmon pink. It will be perceived that materials such as these offered means for harmonious combinations. The possibilities were appreciated, and about the country there exist many happy effects which were secured by blending the various coloured bricks. It was a favourite method to build walls with parti-coloured bands running horizontally through them in the manner shown from Franeker (page 26), where four courses of red bricks interchange with one of yellow. Mouldings and surrounds to openings often contrasted with the prevailing colour of the building. As an illustration of this, the example from Dordrecht (below) may be cited; the walls are formed with yellow bricks and the decorated window-heads with red. In addition to effects obtained by colour harmonies, enrichment was secured by applying moulded and shaped brickwork. It was confined principally to the doorways, windows and string courses, and how successful this system of ornamentation can be will be realised by further reference to the two above-mentioned drawings. Among other familiar features of Dutch buildings are the mosaic decorations which generally occupy the arched spaces over window-heads. Made up of simple units--square or shaped bricks and little pieces of stone--they were set together to form repeating patterns and devices. Many of the houses, such as that at Dordrecht (page 27), attain distinction by reason of these interesting and freely rendered details, and they will be more fully considered in the following chapter on exterior features.

Pantiles were almost universally used for roof-coverings in the towns, while in the country thatching was freely employed. Under certain conditions the good qualities of pantiles show conspicuously. Where the country is level and the landscape low, and big changing sky-effects constantly recur, they look particularly homely and suitable. Their curved surfaces quickly respond to play of light, becoming successively bright in the sunlight or mellow-toned in the shadow. They have the appearance, too, of being well able to withstand the wind and the rain. Holland is a country having the attributes for the successful use of these tiles; moreover, they blended in every way with the prevailing brick architecture, both of the towns and of the villages, as is shown by the illustrations from Haarlem (page 29) and St. Laurens (page 31). They were not always of that bright red colour usually associated with pantiles. Many were made from a grey clay and look not unpleasing; especially in the town and neighbourhood of Zutphen they can be well observed. The thatched roofs of the countryside do not present any special characteristics. They were contrived to accomplish their purpose in a straightforward way. Brought down directly from ridge to eaves, or arranged pyramidally, they have no added decoration in straw-work. The ridge was protected by a course of half-round tiles of which the farmhouse at Spaarwoude (page 30) furnishes an example, and the roof of this building, arranged part in thatch and part in pantiles, is an instance of a fairly prevalent practice.

Passing from the consideration of building materials to that of planning, it may be stated as a general rule that the ground plans of the old work were usually determined by the exigencies of practical requirements. The very narrow frontage of many of the houses gave little latitude for variation of interior disposition: for it will be noticed that the majority of the houses were built with gable-ends facing to the streets, and these consequently became the principal elevations. The measurement from front to back of each was thus much greater than that from side to side. The economical and practical way of treating such an area would be to arrange a passage at the side, directly through from front to back, which would, as well, give access to the rooms and stairs; and this is what was generally done. Such a passage, sketched from the outside pavement, is shown on this page. This expedient was not necessary when the building had a wider frontage, and in such a case the way through was often placed more or less centrally, in the manner illustrated from Alkmaar on page 33. On the other hand, the narrow house at Hoorn (page 34) has a central entrance, and here it gives immediate access to the front room. But the passage was an important feature of Dutch planning and gave the fundamental idea for general disposition.

The internal arrangements were disclosed by the elevations and a guiding principle of Gothic design was thereby followed. The positions of lofty rooms, ways of access, staircases and different floor levels, were as much as possible made obvious on the outside of the buildings. This practice led to many happy results. Not fettered by artificial conventions or limited by unyielding laws, the designers were able to give scope to their invention. Utility and convenience set the theme for spontaneous fancy to adorn. These were the motive powers, the guiding impulses that lay behind the early work, and they continued to operate with more or less force for many generations. The series of houses in the "Balans" at Middelburg (page 35) furnishes a good example of a group that owed its inception to such influences. While there is harmony between part and part no two are alike. One house is higher than its fellow; one comes forward over the paved way while another recedes. Doorways and windows are conveniently, but not too evenly disposed. The brightly painted window-shutters give lively colour, and isolated features--such as the staircase turret seen on the right--show with telling effect. Gables of differing shape break the skyline.

Utilitarian in lighting the rooms of the roofs, the dormers æsthetically serve to carry the eye up to the ridges. The whole impression, if irregular, is picturesque to a degree. Contemplating an effect such as this, so powerful in its human appeal to the eye and mind, it is difficult to appreciate those arguments which are advanced against principles capable of giving such satisfying results.

The most characteristic essential of domestic architecture in Holland is the steeply-pitched gable. It was derived from Gothic sources. Gables owning this influence almost invariably have the lines of their two ascending sides broken by a series of steps which continue upwards from base to apex. They are consequently called "stepped," and such gables will be observed in the drawing from Middelburg mentioned above. The acute rake of the gables determined the slant of the roofs. This circumstance, together with the fact that houses usually had little frontage to the streets, gave great roof spaces incapable of being adequately lighted by windows inserted in the walls. So the fore part consisted of a room (or rooms) which was generally assigned to servants, and the rear area, lighted by dormers, was used for storing and kindred purposes, one all-important among the latter being that of "drying washing." These dormers were quite important factors in architectural composition; each had hinged and painted shutters and a little steep roof. Sometimes they were elaborated, as may be seen, for instance, in the drawing from Hoorn (page 37). The dormer eventually became a much developed feature. In examples such as those shown from Leiden (page 39), where two of the houses are not ended by a gable, the main roof would be hipped back. A certain number of dwellings were built with one of the longest sides occupying the main frontage. The house at Hoorn (page 36) was so constructed. The floor-joists, carried through the walling, are exposed to view; they project beyond the face of the ground floor wall and support an overhanging upper storey. Similar examples occur at Vlissingen (Flushing), and there the joist-ends are carved with representations of small human heads, each of different design.

Very noticeable, both in early and later work, is the great height of ground-floor rooms and passages. They not uncommonly measure from eleven to thirteen feet, or even more, from floor to ceiling. The windows, proportionate to the rooms, are extremely lofty. Over entrance doorways are fanlights of conspicuous size, which are occasionally nearly as large as the doors themselves. Some houses, with very high front rooms abutting on the street, have at the back two stories contained within this same height. The example from Woudrichem (page 38) is disposed in this way; the fore part of the hall, from which the drawing was made, together with the adjoining room are almost twice as lofty as the passage seen beyond; the stairs give access to the imposed intermediate floor. Heights of rooms gradually diminish upward from the ground, and the string-courses that externally mark the position of the floors, are consequently nearest together far up the walls and gables.

It will be seen by the foregoing how construction and practical arrangement went hand in hand with design, neither one being divorced from the other. Especially is this demonstrated by the Gothic buildings and those which primarily betray a Gothic origin. The house from Middelburg (page 40) is given as an example. It is a highly successful piece of grouping, and the features show with admirable effect. The walls are of brickwork and the dressings of stone. On the gable-end bands of stone alternate with courses of bricks, while set back in the angle the well-placed turret, steep-roofed and soaring, dominates the composition. How accurately the value of horizontal and vertical elements was estimated, and how cunningly they were opposed to each other, will be observed. The gateway from Nijmegen (page 41) was conceived in much the same spirit as the above, and here again the turret was effectively employed. Both it and the pointed archway are in quite the Gothic manner; but the crow-stone, or terminating member of the gable, the band of diaper executed in brick and stone, and the details of the windows (near to which the date of 1606 appears) point to other influences.

On the exterior walls of the house from Zutphen (page 43) can be seen the sunk panels, set back from the main face of the brickwork, which served for the insertion of windows. They often extend from near the ground to well up the gable. The dividing projections, turned with arches at their extremities, give bold upright lines. In the example cited these lines have evidently been broken by the rebuilding of the first-storey wall. It is dated 1547. The upper part, showing the sunk panel bordered by moulded bricks, the arched head--in this instance pointed and supported on each side by small circular turrets--and the shuttered window, is given in detail on page 42.

A noticeable treatment of the ground floor elevation is exemplified by the two drawings from Alkmaar and Hoorn (pages 33 and 34), already considered, and by that from Veere (page 44). Each is constructed principally in woodwork, and the many windows amply serve to light the lofty rooms. The wooden mullions are simply shaped and enriched, while over them is a moulded cornice. Above the lower series of windows in the Alkmaar example is a projecting hood, which affords protection from the weather. The date of 1609 is carved upon it, and other buildings having this characteristic usually belong to the opening years of the seventeenth century. A more artistic and satisfactory solution to the difficult problem of adequately lighting the entire side of a high room or shop would not easily be found in the old work of any other country.

It is not possible to make any hard and fast division between Gothic and Renaissance work. The actual dates of the buildings form no conclusive key, for it has been demonstrated in the Introduction how the later development did not advance evenly throughout the country. Houses built in the traditional way, and in a mixture of styles, are to be seen in almost all old towns (page 45). Sometimes one influence shows predominantly, sometimes another. The brick and stone façade at Delft (page 46) has all the attributes of Gothic work, pointed arches, overhanging stories, stepped gable and pinnacles. But the spirit of the carved details is different. The heads in circles, cherubs, vases, cornucopias, lion-heads, dolphins, eagles and acanthus ornament are all subjects far removed from Gothic ideas, as are the delicately carved corbels from which the arches spring.

Two other houses that owe much to Gothic influences are those from Haarlem (page 47) and Alkmaar (page 48). The first-named was built in 1637 and the second in 1673. The more recently dated example shows, in point of style, the earlier architectural form. Both have the customary stepped gable and window-heads, the Alkmaar examples being elliptically arched and those at Haarlem pointed. But in the latter instance the keystones are furnished with Renaissance ornaments, as is the crowning pediment of the gable.

The three following buildings mark a further step forward in architectural development. In general disposition of masses they accord with olden practices, but the decorative details approximate Renaissance ideas. "De Crimpert Salm" at Dordrecht (page 51), of 1608, presents a rich appearance, but the profuse elaboration of the front was not achieved by accident or haphazard use of material. The balance of the design was obviously well considered. Horizontal motives, intensified below the first-floor level, give a stable base for the lavishness overhead; above, they repeat with less force and are finally carried up the gable by the steps. The vertical lines, obtained principally by the window openings and frames, are similarly reduced towards the top, and there the curved elements are concentrated. Upon a low wall of stone and brick stands the woodwork front of the ground floor. Next in order comes a broad band of mosaic decoration executed in brick and stone (page 50), bounded at each end by lion-heads in high relief, and divided centrally by a stone panel with a salmon carved upon it. Other mosaics show in the arched spaces over the windows of the next storey (page 50), while the equivalent space in the gable is filled with arranged brickwork. Moulded bricks and stonework, plain and carved, all contribute to the exuberance of the scheme. The small example from Franeker (page 49) is built in brick and stone and was erected in 1634. It has the traditional gable but the old type of step, small in height and width, was not followed. Two steps only suffice to reach the gable-head and the side of each is finished with shaped stonework, a method of completion not employed in earlier times. Later in date than these two houses, that from Workum (page 52) gives an instance both of the persistence of established practice and of the human desire for newness and change. The builder evidently could neither forget nor abandon the general form of house arrangement that he knew so well, and to it he kept. This is especially obvious in the gable which mounts up in quite the Gothic way. The pilasters on the ground and first storey, however, plainly show that an attempt was made to keep in touch with the prevailing mode of the period. Each is terminated by a Corinthian capital and festoons of fruit are carved upon the panels. In these particulars the work, which was completed in 1663, was in agreement with the then advancing Classic taste. The bricks used in the walls are plum coloured and measure but 1-1/4 inches wide.