Urban nature: exploiting a new homeland

Some plants that have been introduced by botanists or through horticulture are so at home in their new homeland that they have become part of the indigenous flora. Some do this without much trouble as they fill a particular environmental niche. These plants are mainly associated with human activity and examples include well-known wildflowers like Cornflower and Poppy that became naturalised with the spread of agriculture (and are now in decline as a result of changing agricultural practices). Other examples include Mediterranean plants and rare ferns that spread along railway tracks and grow on walls in our towns and cities.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium - left) was widely grown as a medicinal herb and later became a cottage garden favourite. It is now considered indigenous in the Low Countries despite its natural rage being in the Caucasus. The Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia - middle) was introduced from North America in 1601 as an ornamental tree for parks and gardens. It proved very hardy and resilient resprouting easily from the roots and also spreading by seed. The plant has now colonised mainly dry sandy soils, especially on railway sidings and on disturbed ground on brown field sites. Another prised ornamental for the gentleman of taste was the rhododendron. Especially Rhododendron ponticum (right) from Georgia, Turkey and beyond has naturalised, outcompeting all other vegetation. This suckering shrub incidentally grew naturally in Europe before the ice ages, but wasn't able to recolonise naturally. It grows especially well on poor acid soils.

Orange Hawkweed (Pilosella aurantica) was grown extensively as an ornamental garden plant; I remember it well from my grandmothers garden. Originally from the Alps it has become established on poor soils in full sun, especially invading grasslands in the Low Countries. It is not seen as problematic as it hardly replaces native species and serves as a food plant to many insects. Another introduction that feels well at home on acid dry soils is the Red Oak (Quercus rubra) from North America.  First introduced to forestry around 1800 it is now seen as a plague by naturalists as it performs much better than the indigenous Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). The large tree produces an abundance of small acorns that sprout new trees readily. Avenues of Red oak will even develop beautifully on poor compacted soil. A woodland with the American oak is also more diverse than one with the Common oak, so I don't really understand the hysteria... A plant that has been naturalised for such a long time that it is seen as indigenous, is the Evening primrose (shown: Oenothera biennis). They were introduced to Europe from North America in 1614 by an Italian physician. Now they grow wild as far north as Sweden and the Southern tip of Finland. The plants also prefer dry sandy or rocky soils and have found a niche of their own.

Beguinage Lierre: the legacy of medieval housing provision

The Gate of Saint Begga gives access to the Beguinage from the Begijnenstraat (Beguine Street). This patron saint of People who Stutter, was linked to the Beguines by virtue of the likeness in name. The Beguines actually took their name from Lambert le Bègue (Lambert the Stutterer) although this radical twelfth-century priest from Liège wasn't involved in founding the movement. From the gate (1690) one enters the Wezenstraat (Orphan Street) with on the right the oldest cottages of the Beguinage in Lierre. The street was named for a facility for orphaned girls at the end of the street opposite the Infirmary. Directly next to this gate the (female) gatekeeper resided as the gates closed every evening at nine.

A view of the former graveyard with the Church of Saint Margaret (1667) at its centre. This building replaced an older -smaller- church that was built in place of the stone house granted to the beguines by the Duchess of Brabant in 1261.It has an impressive baroque interior. Opposite the west wing of the Infirmary built in 1755-66 with the large gate that gives access to the large inner courtyard. The present large infirmary replaced a much smaller set-up consisting of a block of three adjoining houses next to the "Red Gate" that were used as the first infirmary of the Beguinage.

Next to the church some Quinces have been planted. The bell tower atop the church was added later (1767). The narrow streets are rather straight and have always been paved. The houses along the streets were either built directly on the street or away from it resulting in a variable streetscape.

The paved square around the church is called Oude Kerkhof (literally: Old Church Yard) and was used as the graveyard of the Beguinage. The oldest houses were built around this graveyard with a small church. Most of the houses now standing are from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, although remnants of buildings from some 2oo years before also remain within the present building substance.

Narrow alleys connected the central Rechtestraat with the Bleachfields on the outer moat. In the background the planned houses along this Grachtkant (Moat Side) from the 18th century are visible. The alleys are characterised by side gables and garden walls.

Some of the cottages were originally built at some distance from the road. Later a new street (Nieuwstraat now Symforastraat) was built across the orchard behind and developed for housing. As house numbers hadn't been introduced yet (these came to Belgium with Napoleon) all houses were named. This row of seventeenth century houses have poetic names i.e. Wijngaart des Heeren (The Lords Vineyard), St Bruno, St Christoffel and Maria Visitatie (Visitation of Mary).

The New Convent or Furthest Convent (Achterste Convent - 1595) wasn't a true convent but a dormitory for young women. It was located beyond the former south gate, hence the name and comprises of three separate houses later knocked into an L-shaped building next to the gate on the city wall (shown on the right).

The Symphorastraat was developed in the 14th century. The buildings on the left side of the street have partly been torn down and added as garden space to houses on the Margaretastraat. At the end the narrow alleyway of Piepenholleke (Peek-through Little Hole) was demolished in 1830 and added as gardens to the adjoining houses.

The 18th century development on the former Bleachfield of the Beguines is a regular development of identical houses with an identical floor plan. A low store is part of a new defensive structure here that once joined the outer moat. This stone gate (shown right) was built at the end of the Grachtkant next to the Infirmary.

Beguinage Lierre, a tiny town within a city

The city of Lierre (or Lier in Dutch) was one of the larger urban centres within the Duchy of Brabant. This twin city was located at the confluence of two minor rivers at the edge of the Campine not far from the city of Mechlin (Mechelen in Dutch). Mechlin has two Beguinages, Lierre has just one. The rapid growth of Lierre was directly related to its favourable position on a navigable river and the pilgrimage of Saint Gummarus who was interred here. This influx of people leads to an expansions of trade and thus traders. This in turn leads to the foundation of several religious institutions: the St Elisabeth Hospital in the twelfth century and several religious orders (Cistercian Abbey of Nazareth, Convent of Zion, Black Sisters Convent, Dominican Monastery, Jesuit Monastery, Convent of the Sisters of the Mountain of Peace, Theresian Monastery, Ursulines Convent and Capuchin Monks Monastery) during the following centuries.

The Beguinage of Lierre came into existence probably in the first half of the thirteenth century when a group of unmarried women decides to live together on a small plot of land next to the hunting lodge of the Duke of Brabant. This first Court Beguinage or Begijnhof  - the name "hof" indicates an enclosed or fenced in piece of land and was also used for gardens - lay outside the first city defences but under the protection of the ducal stronghold on the edge of the Nete river.

Adelaide of Burgundy, wife of Henry III granted the religious women land to build a chapel. She was herself a devout woman who was greatly inspired by the teachings of Thomas Aquinas. In 1258 the Beguines were granted the right to have their own church and parish priest. From the onset the Beguinage was fenced off. At first it was surrounded by a paling. The buildings were originally constructed as half-timbered constructions under a thatched roof. Around 1400 the Beguinage consisted of a central church, an infirmery and three so-called convents "het Groethuse", "Canterhuse" and "Woemelghemhuse" in which the Beguines lived together.

With the erection of the second city wall around Lierre - that united both urban cored within one single defensive structure - the Beguinage was incorporated into the city. Along its eastern edge a new moat had already been dug in 1427. This moat was incorporated into the fortifications of 1516. The Beguinage was basically a pious commune of women that was separate from the city it had become a part of. From less than 10 houses it grew steadily through legates and bequests, gradually occupying more territory and adding streets into a tiny city within a city of 162 houses spread along eleven narrow alleys and streets. The wooden fence and palisade was replaced by a wall from the early sixteen hundreds onwards. The housing was also replaced with houses built in stone, to better comply with city fire regulations.

The street pattern is very regular, with fairly irregularly positioned cottages with a great variety of floor plan. This indicated gradual growth along pre-existing lines, most likely the underlying parcelation of fields. The Church of Saint Margaret once stood at the heart of the Beguinage in its own graveyard.  After it was ordained in 1784 that burials should take place outside of the cities the graveyard was closed and paved over.  In the nineteenth century the former orchard was replaced by a Calvary Mount as a symbolic representation of the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha Hill (also known as Calvary Hill). Within this walled sanctuary an infirmary, convent for young girls, Table of the Holy Ghost (Heilige Geesttafel), rectory, gatekeeper house and new convent were located. Along the moat a wide strip of grass was used for bleaching linen and drying cloth on large wooden frames. This part now known as Grachtkant (Moat Side) was developed for more cottages in 1726 after the decline of the clothing industry. During the nineteenth century some cottages were torn down to create small gardens for the adjoining cottages (these are shown in lighter grey). What remained of the Beguinage has been restored after the last Beguines died out. The Beguinage of Lierre was given the highest conservation status and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Belgium.

The Beguinage of Lierre is a large example of a Street type. The oldest core (yellow outline) is located around the church (c), although the parcelation suggests that the first houses were located south of this church. The Beguinage has been expanded several times. For a long time the Beguinage had only two gates [G] at either end of the central Rechtstraat, now Sint-Margaretastraat. The Beguinage reached its current and largest extent in the 17th century. Within its walls with four gates (G) we can find: the Infirmary (i), the Old Convent (O), the New Convent (N), a Calvary Mount (M), the Rectory (R), the Gatekeeper House (K) and the Wezenhuis (W) a house for orphaned girls. The Bleachfields [B] were at the heart of the urban industry of the Beguines. They were located along a moat that connected to the Nete river.

Courts Beguinages (Begijnhoven) of the Low Countries

The Low Countries, which encompass The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and parts of adjoining Germany and France, are well-known for a peculiar medieval type of segregated communal living in an urban context: the Buiganage. Such a Buiganage was occupied by Beguines or Beghards. These Beguines and Beghards were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Northern Europe, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take formal religious vows. Most were set up to accommodate unmarried or widowed women. The Beguines weren't locked into a life-long contract, they were free to leave at any time. Beguines were part of a larger spiritual revival movement of the thirteenth century that stressed imitation of Christ's life through voluntary poverty, care of the poor and sick, and religious devotion.

Often described as an answer to a surplus of women after war, the Buiganage was actually a means for unmarried women entering the city to gain work opportunities and personal independence coupled with a religious and social life. Recent historical studies have shown that the newly established cities of the latter half of the medieval period attracted not only young men but also unmarried young women. Also the age at which a marriage was entered into rose parallel to the success of these new cities and towns.

Beguines came from a wide range of social classes, though truly poor women were only admitted if they had a wealthy benefactor who pledged to provide for their needs. While a small Beguinage usually constituted just one house where women lived together, a Low Countries court Beguinage typically comprised one or more courtyards surrounded by houses, and also included a church, an infirmary complex, and a number of communal houses or 'convents'. They were encircled by walls and separated from the town proper by several gates which were closed at night. During the day the beguines could come and go as they pleased. Some larger Beguinages included workshops, a laundrette and such as a  means of gaining income from work.

Before the close of the Middle Ages, Beghard communities were in decline. Their numbers diminished with the waning of the textile trade that most were dependant on for their living. The highest number of such medieval foundations in Flanders and Wallonia was 94, but in 1734 they had been reduced to just 34 and in 1856 to 20.

Beguines were much more commonplace. From the twelfth century through the eighteenth, every city and large town in the Low Countries had at least one court Beguinage. Later, over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the communities dwindled and came to an end. Their demise started with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Viewed as a "catholic institution" the Beguines were suspected of papal inclinations and Beguinages were forcibly closed and replaced by protestant "Fundaties" (Foundations) for women. These "Foundations" typically consisted of a large block containing rooms for the women as opposed to the small cottages provided to residents in a Buiganage. The Protestant Reformation ultimately resulted in the breakup of the Low Countries into the Republic of the United Provinces in the north and the Burgundy Lands (later the Spanish Netherlands and after that the Austrian Netherlands) in the south. Now these provinces more or less correspond to the countries of Belgium and Luxemburg.

There are three types of Courts Beguinage: 1] Street type, 2] Square type and 3] Mixed or Urban type. The Urban type always started off as one of the other types and gradually expanded into what was in effect a gated social community. This gate (g) was always a feature of a Beguinage, not only to provide safety but also to emphasise their special status exempt from the laws of the city. The statute of a Beguinage was comparable to a church freedom. As a religious (inspired) community each Beguinage had a chapel of small church (c). A bleaching field (b) was also a common feature. Some Beguinages had a large building with rooms for young women, orphans etcetera known as novice house (n). Most Beguinages, however were comprised entirely of (terraced) cottages.

A few Beguinages persisted well into the 20th century, mainly in the Spanish Netherlands (what is now Belgium). The last traditional Beguine Marcella Pattyn died on April 14 2013 in Kortrijk at the age of 92. Most traditional Beguinages died out between 1920 and 1970. In Belgium 22 Beguinages remain: Aarschot, Antwerp, Bruges (Ten Wijngaerde = The Vineyard), Dendermonde, Diest, Diksmijden, Ghent (Old Saint Elisabeth, New Saint Elisabeth and Our Dear Lady in the Hay), Hasselt, Herentals, Hoogstraten, Lier, Leuven (Greater and Lesser Beguinage), Mechelen (again Greater and Lesser Beguinage), Kortrijk, Sint Truiden, Turnhout and Tongeren. Thirteen of these have been listed UNESCO World Heritage since 1998. Other surviving Beguinages can be found in: Amsterdam, Breda, Cambrai, Harlem, Leeuwarden, Paris, Sittard, St. Quentin, Utrecht and Valenciennes. In other cities the former Beguinage only lives on in name as a designation for a street or square.