Have done ``hofjes`` before. Those from Leiden. Found this one in Leerdam , a town I`ve visit last Sunday. Sorry it was n`t open to `ve a visit inside
Wikipedia: The Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden is a museum and former hofje in Leerdam, Netherlands,
It was built during the years 1770-1772 on the former location of the "Kasteel van Leerdam", a castle that was destroyed by the Spanish in 1574. The hofje was founded by Maria Ponderus, the daughter of a surgeon who at 20 married the 50-year-old widower Pieter van Aerden, notary in The Hague. She lived to 92, surviving her husband and three children, who also had no issue. She decided to leave her fortune to a hofje for women of the Protestant faith. Though she had intended her hofje for the poor of The Hague, by the time she died the most of her poor relations were living in Leerdam. Through connections with the House of Orange, the site of the old castle of Leerdam was chosen to build the hofje
The heraldic shields above the doorway are "Dr. C. van Dam van Aerden", "Dr. M. de Villaneuve", "Mevr. M. van Aerden", "Paulus Drooglever", and "Huibert de Bie
Pic.`s of the front entrance and the left wing site with an entrance to the garden. .
@merrelyn The reason? Lockershof is intended for needy women from the family of Mary Ponderus or Pieter van Aerden. If there are no family members to live in the courthouse then came friends and strangers recognized subject of Protestant house and of the female sex. The only man who lives there is the Inner Father, the caretaker.
Once again, the history you share is so fascinating! In America and even Canada, we don't have such a long-ago history of white settlement! Fascinating to read of a woman with such longevity back in that era when most people didn't live to see their 50th birthdays!
