't Oude Raadhuis

On the Heuvel in Beek en Donk stands the former council house of the municipality. The building, which was built in 1866-67 in traditional craftsmanship style by N. de Groot, is currently used as an exhibition area. In 1929-30, a council chamber was added on the northern side. This was demolished in 1980 when the building was converted into a residence.

Description:

The former town hall has a rectangular plan, is two storeys high and is covered by a truncated hipped roof with improved Dutch tiles. The building has a traditional layout: below the beletage, where the actual town hall was located, is the lower ground floor. A police station used to be housed here. The hand-shaped brick façades have a plastered plinth and a profiled eaves with a stucco frieze. The ground floor and the first floor are separated on the street side by a hardstone cordon. The façade of the building has five axes on the first floor. In the central, gabled centralrisal on this floor is a wing panel door (with cast iron door grilles and an upper light with stained glass filling), which is accessible via a bricked-up spiral staircase with cast iron handrail. The door is flanked on either side by two arched T-windows with casement windows and a high fanlight. There are also two such windows on the entrance floor of the west façade. The building has a gable with an eight-light oculus, above which is a small round light. On the gable roof, which covers the risalite, is an open wrought-iron roof chapel with a bell. The lower floor is accessed through a double, round-arched entrance door in the front staircase. The panel doors are partially glazed and have small window sections. In the street facade, there is a four-pane casement window on either side of the staircase.

Appreciation:

The object is of general importance. It is of cultural-historical importance as a special expression of an administrative development and as an example of the typological development of the rural council house. It is of architectural-historical importance due to the intactness of its exterior. It has ensemble values in relation to the visual integrity of the village surroundings.