House Saint John

* Jacob Van Maerlantstraat no. 13-15. House "Sint-Jan" or "Sint-J(e)an d'Angely", an impressive 15th-century patrician house in late Gothic style with an older core, previously known as the "Van Maerlantmuseum". Protected as a monument by R.B. dated 18/06/1946. Also included in the cityscape, protected by M.B. dated 13/10/1986, amended by M.B. dated 30/03/1987. History. The house "Sint-Jan", like the *house "De Grote Sterre" (no. 3) is formed by two late medieval commercial buildings that were merged at an unknown time. The current name "Sint-Jan" refers to the wine town Saint-Jean-d'Angély in the French Bordeaux region, which was once an important trading partner of Damme during the Middle Ages, when the city held the wine storage rights. This suggests that the house may have been owned by the wine guild of Saint-Jean-d'Angély. The left house was built around the middle of the 15th century (approx. 1440) and was shortly thereafter inhabited by Eustachius Wyts, the count's bailiff of Damme. Reportedly, on July 3, 1468, in his residence, Richard Beauchamps, Bishop of Salisbury, blessed the marriage of the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold with Margaret of York, the sister of English King Edward IV. After the ceremony, the royal couple departed in a grand procession from Damme to Bruges, where impressive celebrations were organized for a week, still the subject of the five-yearly so-called Golden Tree Parade in Bruges. This ceremony took place in the house "Sint-Jan" because the town hall of Damme was still under scaffolding at that time (cf. Markt). Depictions of deep houses on the maps of Marcus Gerards (1562) and A. Sanderus (1641-1644). In the 19th century, it was owned by Jacobus Blauwet, who for his coal trade moved to the "Uilenkot" (cf. Slekstraat no. 18); he was convinced by the mayor of Damme, Jacobus Dombrecht, to find a more suitable location for his business, after which he built a tavern along the Damse Vaart (cf. Damse Vaart-Zuid no. 12) in 1864-1865. The right house dates from the 16th century but underwent modifications to both the exterior and interior in the 18th and 19th centuries. The outbuilding on the east side, at the corner with Corneliestraat, dates from later, presumably the end of the 16th to early 17th century, restored around 1948 with new wall openings. The then-owner Constant Neuhuys (from Versailles) established a "Jacob van Maerlant" museum in this wing after World War II, which closed in 1980. Currently in use as a private residence. In 2001, some works were carried out on the house "Sint-Jan", including maintenance work on the roof trusses and load-bearing structures. In 2002, for example, new exterior joinery was installed according to the original model. Description. Originally two deep houses, each with three bays and two floors under linked gabled roofs (ridge perpendicular to the street; roof tiles on the left, Flemish tiles on the right), the left with a higher roof storey. The left house was exceptionally built of yellow brick; the right house in red-brown brick. Wall anchors. The left house (mid-15th century) is characterized on the street side by an impressive gable end with late Gothic style features. Lightly overhanging shoulder pieces; a tall chimney on the east side. Verticalizing design through three Bruges bays which feature rectangular wall openings with brick tracery (pointed arches with three-pass) in round-arched niches, the middle extending to the top; also, window panels of stone cross windows extending to the arch fields. A small arched attic window at the top. A more recent arched entrance in the right bay is on the site of a former window. Brick platform staircase (five steps) with natural stone slabs. Simple iron railing. Glazed cellar entrance on the left. The right house (16th century) is characterized by a more simply executed brick gable bordered with interwoven strips. Rectangular wall openings with beveled day edges, adapted on the ground floor during the 19th century; above are traces of relieving arches. A disappeared entrance on the left cf. remnants of natural stone door blocks. On the first floor, originally divided windows with lintels and relieving arches. An attic window is set in a round-arched niche (with beveled edges). A small arched cellar opening. During restoration works, both houses had the monel and the intermediate lintels restored and bricked-up wall openings reopened. The rear is also characterized by two gable ends with traces of alterations, including rectangular wall openings instead of round arches. A small perpendicular outbuilding on the east side under a tiled gable roof (ridge parallel to the street). Interior. The left house has a pack basement consisting of two longitudinally aligned spaces of unequal width, covered by barrel vaults; traces of a former cellar entrance on the street side. The ground floor is now accessible via the left house. A large "hall" from which originally a wooden spiral staircase led to the upper floor in the southwest corner. Preserved 16th-century tie beams and purlins; e.g., equipped with beam keys with bead profiles, now resting on consoles, previously on wall posts and corbels. During renovation works in 1908, a Gothic fireplace was found in this room, which was demolished and moved to the castle of Oostkerke, largely destroyed during World War I. The fireplace was reconstructed on-site in the second half of the 20th century by the then-owner Constant Neuhuys with the help of some preserved pieces and based on photographs taken by architect Huib Hoste. The cheeks are capped with a figurative representation (man and woman), and just like the hearth beam and breast, decorated with vine shoots and grape clusters. In 1940, part of a 14th-century wall niche was found here, consisting of a profiled brick pointed arch with a small column on a natural stone base capped with a leaf capital; deeper natural stone three-pass on a head console. The first floor is also provided with a ceiling with tie beams and purlins; here too, a Gothic fireplace was discovered in 1908, only fragmentarily preserved. The roof truss consists of two scissors trusses; numbered. The right house has a cellar covered by a barrel vault; it served in the 15th century as a storage place for wines. The ground floor is divided into a front and back room, characterized by 18th-century embellishments, cf. stucco ceiling and hearth breast. Preserved 16th-century structure of tie beams and purlins. Against the back wall of the room on the street side is a wooden wall with a round arch passageway and two alcoves, each originally equipped with two wooden doors. The outbuilding on the east side at the corner with Corneliestraat, presumably dating from the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century. Single-layer brick construction under a gabled roof (ridge parallel to the street; Flemish tiles). Wall anchors. Heavy support buttress on the Corneliestraat side. Four rectangular wall openings on the street facade set under a round-arched niche, dating from the restoration works in 1948. Right bay with rebuilt round-arched gate framed in block natural stone; the new gate is provided with a gate needle dated 1693. Smaller openings in the side wall. On the left, remnants of white stone door framing.

DEPARTMENT ROHM WEST-FLANDERS, Cell Monuments and Landscapes, Archive no. W/00248. BALLEGAR J., Guide to the Zwin area, Nieuwkerken-Waas, 1999, p. 95. DEVLIEGHER L., Damme, in Kunstpatrimonium van West-Vlaanderen, part 5, Tielt, 1971, p. 158-162. HEYNEMAN D.; HEYNEMAN L., Discover Damme. Practical guide, Damme, 1977, p. 15-16. RAU J., The Damme of then and surrounding area, Bruges, 1981, p. 30-31. VANDENBERGHE R., Damme, illustrated guide, Bruges, 1978, p. 49-53. VAN POUCKE G., Archive images Damme, v.z.w. 't Zwin Right Bank Area Damme-Gloucestershire, 2003, p. 58.

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