Workers colonies around the Campine

The Campine is a region in the former Duchy of Brabant and is now located in both Belgium and the Netherlands. The undulating landscape is mostly made up of sandy soils and is crisscrossed by streams, brooks and small rivers. The area used to be wooded with some moorland, until the resettlement of Germanic tribes under the Romans who called the region Taxandria (after the Yew trees that grew here). The name Campine is derived from the Latin Campina, which means at the flat land and relates to the lack of hills and other height features. The Flemish Campine occupies most of the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg; the Dutch Campine occupies about a third of the province of North Brabant. A few smaller parts of Flemish Brabant also belong to the Campine.

The region wasn't very densely populated. Cities were located mostly around the more fertile edges, so villages and scattered hamlets dominated. These would be relatively isolated, always located near a stream, clearly outlined fields and a communal heath. Manors all but are absent here. Tithe was paid to the landlord at a grain store or at a manorial farm. Much of the land was owned by monasteries (that had been granted the land by the Duke of Brabant to be made productive). Because of the abundance of moorland and swamps tracks that lead through the Campine never took the shortest route. This all changed with the building of shipping canals and railways. Between 1827 and 1946 7 canals were excavated connecting Meuse and Scheldt. The first Campine railway was opened in 1855 and connected Lier with Turnhout via Herentals. Importantly the so-called Iron Rhine -a railway line connecting the harbour of Antwerp with the German Ruhr Area via Dutch Limburg- was opened in 1879. This line connected to the older line at Herentals and passed through Olen, Mol, Lommel, Balen, Overpelt, Budel, Weert and Roermond and from there on to Rhyd near Mönchengladbach.

There was a lot of space in the heart of the Campine that had become very accessible by rail and waterway. This is also why the military camp of Leopoldsburg and the Vagrant colonies of Wortel and Merksplas were located in this region on former heathland. Land was cheap and there were few people to complain. Also local government was weak. This attracted heavy industry that was being regulated around Liege and Essen. There already was some industrial activity in the city of Turnhout, the rest of the Campine was rural or wasteland. By the end of the nineteenth century metallurgic industry settled in the central Campine near rail and canal. There were zinc works in Balen, Lommel, Overpelt, Rotem (Dilsen) and Budel. Other industry that settled here were an ammunitions works, a smelting plant, glass works, chemical plants (sulphuric acid, ammonia and nitrates), wood mills, sand quarries and brick works. Near these industrial sites new colonies were erected to house the workers that were typically brought in from elsewhere (Germany, Wallonia, Bohemia and Silesia).

The Campine (within the amber line) is situated between the cities of Antwerp and Eindhoven and overlaps with the coal basin in the east. In the west two vagrant colonies Kolonie Wortel (KW) and Kolonie Merksplas (KM). Industrial development started east of Turnhout (T) in the middle of the Campine in Overpelt-Fabriek (OF - 1880), followed by  Balen-Wezel (W - 1881), Budel-Dorplein (DP - 1892), Lommel-Werkplaatsen (LW - 1904), Rotem-Dilsen (RD - 1911) and Sint-Jozefs-Olen (JO - 1913). Of all the subsidiary workers colonies only Rauw (R) remains; Blauwe Kei, Glaswijk and Stevensvennen have disappeared (*) although there is still a village at Stevensvennen. The collieries at Beringen (B), Zolder (Z), Houthalen (H), Zwartberg (Zw), Winterslag (Wi), Waterschei (Wa) and Eisden (Ei) lie south of the band of heavy industry.

These colonies often lay at some distance of the original settlement. Sometimes a completely new village grew out of an initial colony (Mol-Rauw, Wezel, St Josef-Olen and Dorplein) or colonies were gradually incorporated into the urban sprawl (Overpelt-Fabriek ad Lommel-Werkplaatsen). None of these colonies were expanded by garden village type developments as was done with the mining colonies of the High Campine. They either remain as a recognisable unit of streets on a regular plan with repetitive housing -much like examples from the Ruhr Area- or were replaced by later housing (in the case of Stevensvennen). Some colonies have been dismantled, in the case of Glaswijk notwithstanding its listed status.

Spring blooms: fast to flower

Spring is the time that plants are in bloom that are rushing to produce leaves, flowers and seeds before summer is in full swing. Many blooms this time of year are yellow, blue or  violet, but some are white or soft red (pink). Many of these plant vanish completely after June and retreat into bulbs, corms or tubers.

The Hyacinth (left) originated in Persia and came to the Netherlands via Turkey. The heavily scented blooms quickly became a favourite. Most were grown in special pots and placed around the garden when in bloom. Chionodoxa, a small bulb from Crete, Cyprus and Turkey, normally has blue flowers, but forms in white and pink can be found in the wild. These were selected for ornamental use (middle). This Glory-of-the-Snow is often used in bulb planting schemes as a second layer planted under earlier bulb (the spent flowers of purple Crocuses can be seen in between). Another plant that retreats underground is the Wood Anemone. Here the reputedly blue selection "Robinsoniana'. At midday the blooms look an almost white icy blue, but later in the evening the flowers seem to change colour and look really rather blue indeed.

The balm-leaved Deadnettle (left) originates from Austria, Croatia and Northern Italy. These plants grow well in shaded spots and, as they grow naturally in woodland. The flowers are produced in early spring. Purple Toothwort (Lathraea clandestina) is native to Continental Europe and flowers early in spring with these flowers bursting directly from the soil. This plant is a parasite and has no chlorophyll It normally grows directly on the roots of Poplar and Willow, but will manage with most garden shrubs. This is the dark form (middle) found in France and the Low Countries. Fumewort (Corydalis solida) is an indigenous plant in most of Europe. In the Netherlands they thrive mainly on country estates. These plants with small tubers also grow naturally in moist woodland and can also be found in parks.

Agnetapark, section two: a vernacular garden village on a regular layout

The twentieth century part of Agnetapark is both a factory village and a garden village. The formal layout echoes workers colonies in Essen by Krupp and the Campine workers colonies. The style of architecture is in line with Garden City Movement examples and firmly vernacular in character.  As in the older section, water is placed at the heart of the housing development. This is an early form of hydrologically neutral developing, a necessity in a low-lying polder.  

From the park the second park (a housing estate from the 1920s) has a formal gate to signify an entrance and formalise the distinction between the two sections of Agnetapark. The winged block forshortens the view and emphasises the curve in the street.  This with the gate feature are examples of Unwinesque design.

A view along low housing towards the higher block with apartments. As in the old sections the houses have small front gardens edged by a privet hedge. The colours of the woodwork have been recently restored and are based on classic colours used in farm buildings in Holland and Utrecht. With the use of the colours and the low roofline these buildings are similar to those used in other housing projects (Garden Village Ede and Spaarndammerbuurt).

The layout is formal with a grid of streets around a central public garden with a large pond in the middle of it. Low housing was built in terraces along both the northern and southern edge of this public garden. (Here: Vijver Noord).

Two close-like cul-de-sacs flank the Robert Coumansplein as extensions of the straight streets flanking the public garden with the pond. The houses are grouped in terraces in the typical style of the whole estate.

The R. Coumansplein is a garden square that has terraced housing on three sides. On the north side this public space abuts the factory site of the yeast factory. The streets are lined by pollarded limes,. This is in keeping with the vernacular theme of this estate. The garden square was -badly- redesigned in the 1980s (and is therefore not shown in this series of pictures). 

These daffodils have many cousins growing around the housing estate and in the park. Daffodils do especially well on these soils with high ground water levels. This type with an orange cup I find especially attractive. In several places these  gate-features break up the long terraces and give access to the paths that lead to the back gardens. Such back paths are a common feature in German and Dutch garden villages and suburban housing estates.

At either end of the public garden at the heart of the "second park" higher blocks have been placed to allow for a more varied spatial and functional make up of this estate. There are three such blocks with up-and-down housing (a ground floor flat with a duplex flat on the two storeys above. The blocks have been detailed as all the other architecture with a long strip of dormer windows providing light and air for the bedrooms underneath the roof.

Looking back across the central pond the other higher block at the other end can be seen. This housed workshops on the ground floor originally, but has now been converted into housing completely. The public garden is dominated by the elongated pond, with only a narrow strip of grass trees and shrubs around it.

A view back towards the public garden with the pond. The regular layout of the streets is quite evident here. Instead of pollarded limes, here pollarded plane trees have been used.

On the edge of the estate a block with commercial space on the ground floor and an apartment above dating from the 1960s has been replaced by a row of terraced housing in a style in keeping with the listed adjoining estate. The architects have done a good job as seen on the left. This is seldom seen in the Netherland where architects are trained to create contrasting interventions. Some of the housing in this second phase comprises of larger family housing for middle management. Again the front garden has a low privet hedge.

The Laan van Altena forms the southern edge of the second park. Part of the houses looks out over another pond. It actually isn't a pond but part of the drainage system around the old city of Delft. The listed building is a pumping station built here around 1930. The pond is in fact part of the Wetering (Dutch for a main drainage channel in a polder).

The area directly south of Agnetapark was developed for private housing. These dwellings were also built to house employees of the Yeast and Methylated Spirit Factory. They display a wide range of styles and also vary considerably in size and height.

This block on the edge of the old park was built instead of a planned row of middle-management cottages. It is similar to the other double height blocks, but was intended as family housing and not divided in two flats.

Agnetapark, section one: an ornamental mix of eclectic buildings in a verdant setting

The nineteenth century part of Agnetapark is both a factory village and a model village based on the ferme orné from garden design. It is a precursor to later factory housing and examples of the Garden City Movement. The oldest part of this housing estate was built between 1884 and 1892. The housing was completed in the first two years. The whole was designed as a settlement on the edge of a park with the directors villa taking centre stage. This model is comparable to Villa Hügel and the Siedlung Brandenbusch (of 1885) -albeit on a much smaller scale.

A view across the lawn of the park towards the spot where once the villa of the director of the Yeast and Methylated Spirit Factory stood. That building was converted to a school and extended in 1929, but was taken down in 1981. This lead to calls for the whole estate to become listed.

Jacob Cornelis van Marken and his wife Agneta Matthes founded both the factory and the housing estate for workers. Their busts have been placed within a small rose garden that now occupies the spot where first their villa 'Rust Roest' stood.

The core of the model village behind the villa was made up of several Mulhouse Quadrangles. The higher building at the centre originally comprised of 8 flats. The blocks around it are lower and were conceived as standard Mulhouse Quadrangles consisting of 4 separate dwelling under one roof. These buildings have been redeveloped with half the number of dwellings each.

This building known as "The Tent" replaces a wooden building on the edge of the serpentine lake. It was built in 1914 in brick to house the music hall and two cooperative shops. It's now used as a business premises.

This large block housed the park executive and workshops on the ground floor. It was built in 1886 and originally also housed a printing press. It is now home to a number of small businesses. The eclectic style of the building is typical of late nineteenth century urban architecture that combined reworked motifs with modern materials and structural innovations to create an aesthetic impression.

Behind the workshops new workshops were created in 1930 in this wooden building in the Holland vernacular known from the area north of Amsterdam (Waterland and Zaanstreek). The larger building housed the printing press. A cottage of 3 dwellings was demolished to make way for these buildings.

The Frederik Matthesstraat -named after the brother of Agneta Matthes - van Marken- curved around the Mulhouse Quadrangles. These are terraced cottages comprising 4 or 3 dwellings each. All have a small front garden with a privet hedge and identical wooden gates. These houses were completed in 1886. The cars lining the narrow street are indicative of the time this estate was planned [for factory workers that walked to work and didn't own any private means of transportation other than a bike].

The Mulhouse Quadrangles (now reduced to Mulhouse Doubles) are built in a similar style as the cottages with two colours of brick and arched features above the windows. The architecture references Dutch Renaissance architecture. A narrow street called Zierenstraat serviced the central dwellings of the Mulhouse Quadrangles and is now un unnamed path accessing the gardens.

Two larger block of terraced housing are located between the Mulhouse Quadrangles and the Pasteurstraat. The architecture is very similar to that of the cottages. The same privet hedges as used elsewhere create a semi-rural feel.

The cottages along the Pasteurstraat are identical to the other cottages. The front gardens are of a similar size and follow the narrow semicircular street. At the end of the Pasteurstraat a large ornamental gate reading AGNET APARK gives access to the park proper and separates the housing from the community building known as "De Gemeenschap". This building now houses a restaurant.

A view across the serpentine lake towards "De Lindenhof" (Lime House) the former community building. This building was erected between 1891 and 1892 in a style distinctly different from the rest of the housing estate. A turret indicates the entrance and gives this building its distinctive outline. All amenities were placed at some distance from each other around the park much like park follies or attractions.

Another view across the serpentine lake. Behind the (former) Mulhouse Quadrangles the buildings of the present yeast factory operated by DSM are clearly visible. The park itself is a standard small-scale landscape park with winding paths, clumps of trees groups of shrubs and areas of lawn. In some places early interest has been created by planting daffodils.

These semidetached houses were built to house overseers and more skilled workers. They are situates on the edge of the park. Originally more of these were planned, but it turned out that 5 of these dwellings were sufficient. The second development was partly built over these planned but never executed houses.