Castle in Neo-Renaissance style

Concise characterization:

Typology: caretaker houses, fences, country houses, enclosing walls, parks, stables
Style: neo-Flemish Renaissance style
Dating: fourth quarter of the 19th century

Description:

Late 19th-century castle in neo-Renaissance style with outbuildings, located in a park that is separated from the street by a wall.
History: The castle was built in 1898-1899 for brewer and liberal politician Jules Deconinck-Lagae (1841-1899). The castle was constructed directly opposite the then brewery buildings and near some stables that Deconinck had already built in 1882 along the street. With the construction of the castle, these stables were converted into the current caretaker's house and stables. In 1899, the Deconinck family moved from a house adjacent to the brewery on Brouwerijstraat to the newly built castle. During World War I, the castle was used as a hospital for German soldiers. After the death of Marthe Eyben, the second wife of Maurice Deconinck, the estate was sold in 1967 by the heirs of the Deconinck family.
Description: Castle in park, separated from the street by a new half-high wall with railing, accessible via a central entrance (previously, the entrance was on the north side). Neo-Renaissance castle characterized by an irregular floor plan with projections, including a pre-positioned tower volume against the south façade. Distinctive orange brick construction of two stories enlivened by the use of limestone for various neo-Renaissance decorations, cf. cornices, string courses, window surrounds, balustrades, etc. High, broken stone plinth (raised ground floor). Gable roofs covered with slates, featuring dormers and roof windows. Main façade with two side risalits under gable roofs with bulbous crowns and a top piece beneath a round-arched pediment (date stone "1898"); in between, three recessed bays preceded by a double, limestone staircase under a cast-iron canopy. Rectangular and round-arched openings with woodwork in pitch pine. Similarly worked rear and side façades, but here with a central risalit under a gable. Centrally in the gable at the rear, an anchor likely with the letters "J(D)C" (cf. builder Jules De Coninck). Wooden cornice on brackets. The tower volume has six sections; the five lower ones follow the rhythm and decoration of the façade; the upper section is narrower. An iron winter garden has been added to the northern side façade. Recently added veranda against the rear façade. Beautiful interior and preserved ground plan with centrally the monumental, neoclassical entrance hall over two floors (balustrade at the level of the floor). On the right, there is a blue salon in neoclassical style, billiard room with recent furnishings. On the left, the staircase and former service areas. On the garden side, the large and small salon in neo-Renaissance style with, among other things, coffered ceiling, column fireplace, parquet, and panel doors. The original interior fittings and finishes have been preserved.
On the street side, late 19th-century caretaker's house and stables southeast of the castle. Two parallel volumes situated along a cobbled driveway. Anchored construction of red and blue-gray bricks on a limestone plinth under tiled gable roofs (ridge perpendicular to the street). Plastered and white-painted street façade with segment-arched openings (including gates). On the park side, entrance and small volumes (storage spaces) under saddle or shed roof, integrated into the enclosing wall and finished with beautifully crafted wooden wind boards.

Cadastral archive West Flanders in Bruges, 207: Mutation sketches, Harelbeke, 1883/18, 1892/11.
Almey B, Opsomer G., The elected representatives from Harelbeke for the Senate (1831-1893), in Tidings from the Roede of Harelbeke, vol. 8, no. 1, 2005.
Baert K., Cauwe R., 100 years of Sint-Augustinus. A century of parish life in Stasegem (1902-2002), in The Roede of Harelbeke (De Leiegouw), no. 22, Harelbeke, 2002, p. 21.
Images from the past, Harelbeke-Bavikhove-Hulste-Stasegem, Harelbeke, 1978, p. 165.
Cauwe R., Harelbeke in old postcards including some images of Stasegem, Zaltbommel, 1972, no. 70.
Harelbeke county town, Harelbeke, 2003, p. 139.
Source: Vanwalleghem A. & Creyf S. 2009: Inventory of the architectural heritage, Province of West Flanders, Municipality of Harelbeke, Part I: City of Harelbeke, Part II: Submunicipalities of Bavikhove and Hulste, Building through the centuries in Flanders WVL42, (unpublished working documents).
Authors: Creyf, Silvie & Vanwalleghem, Aagje

pieterbeernaert80@gmail.com