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. i 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. ii 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 iii 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 iv 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 vi 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