Property History
Endymion is the first independent work of the architect Theodorus Wijdefeld (1885-1987). The house is named after the remarkable piece of poetry by John Keats (1795-1821). This magnificent property was completed between 1909 and 1911 for his sister Marie and her husband, E.J. Everts. He also oversaw the house’s garden creation (1910), later that of the pergola with the sophisticated hedge (1924) and then the garage with a dwelling for the chauffeur (1924).
The monumental outside aspect of the house has been executed – this is rare in the Netherlands – in a style which is named “turn of 1800”. This is a Dutch architecture trend of the beginning of the 20th century, which draws its inspiration from the XVI Lodewijk style. Endymion has however much in common with the work of the Dutch architecture, Peter Behrens (1868-1938) which, mostly before the war, used a strict and sober Roman classicism.
In the 1920’s Endymion changed owner and was acquired by Carel W. Baron van Heeckeren and his young wife Johanna C.L. de Kock. In 1924, Wijdeveld was ordered to build a garage with chauffeur housing. The building, a new phenomena in its time, and it announces the new down to earth architecture in the Netherlands.
The cultural value of Endymion has been recognized, to the extent that a global protection has been extended with the exception of the chauffeur’s housing quarters.
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