Coppejans Farm

Even large farms were standard part of the Haspengouw village. This closed mine from around 1800 is inhabited by the Coppejans-Ovart family.

The farmhouse is two stories high. The first floor of the house houses a 'secret altar', hidden behind two doors. It is possible that this altar was intended for the unsworn priests, who had to secretly celebrate mass during the time of the French Revolution. The farm has a mansard roof above the gatehouse. Until the year 1922, a generator was running in the gatehouse to generate electricity: a dynamo was thus driven, which charged the batteries and supplied the Pierco castle with electricity, among other things. Doors and windows have bluestone frames. Above the barn gate is the year 1858.

The farm used to be surrounded by a standard orchard to the east, a vegetable garden to the south and a park forest to the north of the complex. The park forest was converted into pasture around 1954 and the orchard was cleared in the 1960s. On the Vandermaelen map is indicated 'Brass', which probably refers to 'brasserie' or 'brewery' as was often the case for large farms in this region.

The gatehouse, not just for its splendor

Many architectural features are decorative at first sight, but they almost always had a function. The gate had to be high enough so that fully loaded carts could pass under it without any problem. The bluestone corner chains give the construction an extra reinforcement in height. The longer stones provided sufficient support. In this way, the intermediate stones could be shorter and this expensive material could be used sparingly. In order to maintain a large gate opening in such a heavy wall surface, it necessarily has a relief arch: a round arch, also in bluestone, which rests on a solid bluestone frame. At the bottom are bluestones so that cart wheels would not damage the gatehouse. The iron wall anchors hold the internal beams together and prevent the walls from falling apart. They have been given a decorative curl. The base in Gobertange stone gives the walls a solid base and repels moisture and splashing dirt.

The mansard roof offered an aesthetic way of not having to put too large a roof on the gatehouse. This roof shape also creates more vertical space under the roof, ideal for the dovecote.

Jan Rymenams