The Hofje van Noblet is a hofje in Haarlem, Netherlands.

Front entrance of the hofje.
Hofje van Noblet is located in Haarlem
Hofje van Staats
Hofje van Staats
Hofje van Noblet
Hofje van Noblet
The Hofje van Staats is on the Jansstraat, and the Hofje van Noblet is on the Nieuwe Gracht, overlooking the Spaarne river.

History

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The hofje (center) is situated on the corner of the Spaarne river and the Nieuwe Gracht canal and the Regents' rooms overlook Haarlem and the Spaarne (thus the name Haerlem en Spaargesigt)
 
A regent of the hofje posing next to his portrait in the regent's room of the Hofje van Noblet.
 
The Hofje van Noblet.
 
Name board "'T Hofje van Noblet begonnen 1758 volbouwt 1760" with the list of names of the regents of the Hofjes Staats and Noblet, starting in 1758-1760

It was built in 1761 from the legacy of Leonard Noblet and his sisters Sara en Geertruida. The houses in the hofje are built in the garden of the house of the Noblet family, Haerlem en Spaargesigt. The father of Leonard, Elezar Noblet, bought it in 1737. The Noblet family originally came from Amsterdam. Because Leonard, Sara and Geertruida had no legal heirs, they decided to construct a common last will. They wrote that they wanted to found a hofje, and that the governors of the nearby Hofje van Staats would be the executors of their will.

The hofje was built with 20 houses. Ten for women from Haarlem, on the east-side of the hof, and ten for women from Amsterdam, at the west-side. The women living there had to be at least 50 years old, had to have been single their whole life and had to have been a member of the Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk, an old name of the Dutch Reformed Church.

A part of the original house of the Noblet family serves as the house of the supervisor of the hofje, another part is the official housing of the governors (regents) of the hofje (who are also the governors of the Hofje van Staats).

The main entrance of the hofje is located on the Nieuwe Gracht overlooking the Spaarne river and there is a back entrance on the Parklaan. When the hofje was built that was not called the Parklaan, but 'Achter Nieuwe Gracht', a canal. The entrance to the old house of the Noblet family is located on the Hooimarkt. An original drawing of the Hofje van Staats, as well as items from that hofje's history, are located in the hall and regent's room of the Hofje van Noblet, whose finances are also managed by the same "Foundation for the preservation of the Hofjes Staats and Noblet".Above the doorway to the Regent's room, a board with the list of names of the regents hangs with the dates of their appointment, which are also the dates of their oval portraits that hang in the two front rooms.

List of regents and their portraits

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Regent's name Oval portrait artist Year/link to portrait
Andries Heshuysen Frans Decker 1724
Salomon Focke Frans Decker 1750
Salomon Krul Tako Hajo Jelgersma ca 1750
Herman Draveman Tako Hajo Jelgersma 1756
Gerrit Willem van Oosten de Bruyn Tako Hajo Jelgersma 1764
Nicolaas Galle Tako Hajo Jelgersma 1768
Cornelis de Graat Tako Hajo Jelgersma 1768
Arent Jan van Eybergen Wybrand Hendriks 1786
Jacob van Varelen Wybrand Hendriks 1786
Johannes Enschedé Jr. Wybrand Hendriks 1791
Victor Jacobus Berkhout Wybrand Hendriks 1797
Pieter Samuel Crommelin Wybrand Hendriks 1800
Pieter Jacob van Eybergen Wybrand Hendriks 1804
Johannes Enschedé III Wybrand Hendriks ca.1825
Cornelius Johannes de Bruyn Kops Wybrand Hendriks ca.1825
Daniel Frans Crommelin Jan Adam Kruseman 1825
Marten Adriaan Beels Jan Adam Kruseman 1825
Willem Gerrit de Bruyn Kops Antonie Frederik Zürcher ca. 1860
Jacobus Willem Maurits van de Poll Antonie Frederik Zürcher ca. 1860
Adriaan Volkert Teding van Berkhout Antonie Frederik Zürcher 1861
Johannes Enschedé IV Johan Heinrich Neuman ca.1865
Johannes Enschede (1851-1911) A.J. Zurel ca. 1875
Floris Willem van Styrum Anthonie Jacobus van Wijngaerdt 1888
Willem Philip Teding van Berkhout Hendrik Antoon Pothast 1884
Charles Fredrik van de Poll Wim ter Reehorst 1905
Eduard Henri Elisa Teding van Berkhout Unknown 1906
Gijsbert van Tienhoven Hagedoorn 1921
Johannes Enschede (1879-1938) Unknown ca.1925
Floris Willem van Styrum Harie Jonas 1932
Samuel Crommelin Gerrit David Gratama 1934
Boudewijn Franciscus Enschede Unknown ca. 1940
Bernard Gertrudus van Styrum Hendrik Jan Wesseling 1941
Emile Jules Strick van Linschoten Hendrik Jan Wesseling 1942
Bartold Willem Floris van Riemsdijk Jaap Pander 1947
Willem Hendrik Bierman John Brinkworth 1951
Eco Deodaat Haitsma Mulier Aleid Slingerland 1972
Louis Willem Pahud de Mortanges Aleid Slingerland 1977
Dirk Johan Enschede F. van Oordt ca. 1980
Albertus Huijsman Aleid Slingerland 1984
Johan Herman Bijl de Vroe Aleid Slingerland 1986

The hofje was renovated in 1992, when the number of houses was reduced from 20 to 16 to allow for modern living requirements.

Address: Nieuwe Gracht 2

References

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  • Haarlems hofjes, Dr. G. H. Kurtz, Schuyt & Co C.V., Haarlem, 1972, ISBN 90-6097-027-6
  • Door gangen en poorten naar de hofjes van Haarlem, L. Peetorn and L. van der Hoek, Stichting Uitgeverij Barabinsk Leiden, 2001, ISBN 90-73983-17-7

52°23′06″N 4°38′32″E / 52.38500°N 4.64222°E / 52.38500; 4.64222