Huize Bartholomeus – Het Lievenhuis

Be sure to take a stroll through the courtyard garden and enjoy all the old features of the original building.

From a convent to a retirement home, a nursing home, and finally rental and owner-occupied homes, the building has a rich history.

Huize Bartholomeus, NURSING HOME. Built in 1933 to a design by architect L. de Vries from Helmond, the building was constructed in a traditionalist style.

Founded by Father Bartholomeus Kemps in 1841 as a convent, it was managed as the tenth house of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity, of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy, with Bartholomeus as its patron saint.

The building consists of an elongated three-storey wing on Kerkstraat under a hipped roof, the ridge of which runs parallel to the street. Behind it is a slightly lower, L-shaped structure. A courtyard has been created within these wings. The whole is constructed in large-format hand-moulded brick, with the top floor protruding slightly and painted white. Natural stone blocks have been placed around the entrances. The roof has an overhang and is covered with Roman tiles. The façade has an entrance to the left of the centre, above which are tall, narrow stained-glass windows. This section is crowned by a gable with a niche in which a statue has been placed. On the roof, behind the gable, a square ridge turret with a spire is visible. Above a second door is a rectangular balcony with a brick balustrade and metal door. The two entrances consist of double wooden round-arched doors with small windows on bluestone thresholds in porches. In one of them, a window has been placed in front of the original door. The porches have a brick staircase and natural stone stringers and blocks in the arch. In this façade, there are two-part windows on the ground floor and first floor, with upper and lower lights separated by a natural stone band and a natural stone keystone in the lintel. The windows have metal frames with plastic secondary glazing. The second floor has narrow six-pane windows with metal frames. The brickwork of the side façade has been re-clad over two storeys. The façade features rectangular windows with metal frames. The rear façade, facing the courtyard, has a continuous balcony with a brick balustrade on the first floor. Above this is a gallery with round arches, constructed in white-painted stone.

The courtyard is accessible through metal double doors. The façades feature lancet windows filled with stained glass. In the south corner of the courtyard, a square tower with a tent roof has been placed against the façades.

The interior has been altered with the exception of a few elements. An example of the original interior is the stairwell with stained glass windows located behind the gable on Kerkstraat.

The monastery is of general importance. It has cultural-historical value as an example of spiritual development, namely the flourishing of orders and congregations in the interwar period, and is also important as an example of the typological development of the congregational monastery annex nursing home. It is of architectural historical importance because of its sober but proportionate style, the use of brick and decorative whitework, and is also important as an example of the work of the architect De Vries. The exterior has been preserved intact.

Did you know that in 1940, as an act of resistance, a plaque was made depicting Mary with child? She stands on the globe and crushes the head of the monster. Normally, the image of a snake was used for this. But here, the snake has been replaced by a dragon, representing the Hitler regime. The Morning Star, also an honorary title of Mary, represents the hope that the population, despite everything, does not give up and prays for Mary's help.

•    Built in Traditionalist style

•    Founded by Pastor Bartholomeus Kemps in 1841 as a monastery

Practical information

- The interior of the building is not open to the public, but the courtyard garden can be visited.

Background information

Type of monument: residential house

Original function: residential houses, retirement home

Architect: L. de Vries from Helmond

Construction period: 1841

Current function: residential houses

Monument status: national monument