Hoeve Nieuwenhuis in Gemert

The Hoeve Nieuwenhuis is a foundation of the Teutonic Order in the southwest of De Mortel. The farmstead is first mentioned in the year 1421. The farmstead always remained the property of the Teutonic Order and belonged to the property of Gemert castle until the 20th century. Because the farmstead always remained in the hands of the Teutonic Order, the associated land ownership was undivided over the centuries. Only on the northern side were some parcels of wasteland reclaimed and added. The location of the main building of the Nieuwenhuis estate also remained unchanged. The old farm was converted into a stable in the 20th century, after a new house was added. All that remains of the old building is the fire gable between the former living area and the stable area. The gables of the barn remained in almost the same place. When the outer walls were replaced, two remains of the old wooden foundation or construction piles were recovered. This indicates that a building was present in the same place dating back to the time when farms were built by digging wooden posts into the ground. After the Middle Ages, it was customary to stop digging in the wooden structure and instead found it on stone piles. The recovered post remains were examined dendrochronologically, but unfortunately it proved impossible to determine the dating. Given the construction method used, however, we can assume that they are remnants of the original building. The foundation of the farmstead and the construction of the first farmhouse will have taken place during the 14th century. The Ter Eyken property is mentioned as early as 1386 and, given its location, is a later foundation of the Teutonic Order. The farmstead remained among Gemert's castle estates for centuries, even after the dissolution of the Teutonic Order in 1809. The castle estates were then owned by the Van Riemsdijk, Lüps and Scheidius families. The Hoeve Nieuwenhuis is part of the large property complex of the Teutonic Order at Milschot and Ter Eyken in Gemert.

The house field of the Nieuwenhuis property

An important element of the Nieuwenhuis farmstead is the house field to the northwest of the farm. The field is still present in its entirety. Originally, the entire field was surrounded by a rampart with coppice.

On the house field (as on all old fields) there was no vegetation with trees or shrubs and no visible plot divisions in the form of ditches were present. The field was raised over the centuries so that a thick layer of eard was formed. At the edges of the field, this is still partly visible by the presence of steep edges, especially on the south side.

The dirt road on the west side of the field is the Old Helmondseweg. This is the old connecting road between Gemert and Helmond. This path follows the border of Nieuwenhuis' home field. The coppice wall along the Oude Helmondseweg is still part of the old wood walling of the old house field.