Icon disappeared: the historic Nutriciahoeve was demolished after two fires

The characteristic Nutriciahoeve on the Rokkeveenseweg has disappeared forever. After two fires, the farm looked shabby and abandoned for a long time. Demolition workers are now flattening the characteristic farm with bulldozers in a short time.

The front part of the longhouse farm dates from 1850. You may be familiar with this farmhouse with thatched roof on the Rokkeveenweg. It was located near the former prison and you recognized it by the sign ‘Nutriciahoeve’ on the front facade.

Fire in a camper

On the night of April 16 to 17, 2023, a storm broke fire out in a camper on the grounds of the Nutriciahoeve. The flames spread to the thatched roof of the farm. The more than 170 year old farm was severely damaged by the fire. More than a year later, on the night of Friday 7 to Saturday 8 June, a storm broke fire again out in the vacant farm. The fire brigade spent hours extinguishing the fire and partly demolished the building to get the fire out.

Now, more than seven months after the last fire, the building has been demolished. It is not yet known what will happen to the site. The current owner, Eric Tetteroohopes to build new homes there.

A piece of history

Nutricia bought the farm around 1917 in order to supply the factory in Zoetermeer with milk. In 1925, Nutricia had the stable rebuilt by the Zoetermeer contractors, the Smits brothers. This included a small churning house and three haystacks. Later the Westerman family farmed there, including potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Owls welcome

The Nutriciahoeve was a so-called longhouse farm. The front cowl had a wolf end, the name for a beveled, triangular end at the front. It contained a semi-circular opening through which owls could fly in. They were very welcome guests in the farm because they liked to eat mice and thus protected the grain from being eaten.

Source: Architectuurpunt Zoetermeer