Church Schellinkhout will soon be inhabited, will it still be a bit of the village?

The road to the Martinus Church winds through the ribbon village of Schellinkhout. On either side are farmhouses and detached houses, where fruit and flowers are sold for next to nothing. On the edge of the village and on the dike of the Markermeer, you will find the age-old national monument, the Martinuskerk, which was partly built in 1361.

Hard work is being done in the Martinuskerk, the doors are open. Prospective resident Stef van der Byl is sanding a plank in the middle of all the furniture, tools and belongings. Now still living in Hillegom, but soon together with his wife Marlieke de Rooij the proud resident of the Martinuskerk.

They bought the church last year for 450,000 euros, and they’ve been doing odd jobs every day since then. He expects the renovations to take about three years, and until then he and his wife will sleep in the mobile home in the garden. Whether they will keep it up, especially in the winter, remains to be seen. His friend has just installed the gas heater he found on Marktplaats – ‘an Italian design’.

Two stories

The couple had been looking for a church to live in for some time. In Hillegom they lived in an old glue factory, but they were ready for a new ‘challenge’. They only noticed De Martinus later, he says while smoking a cigarette at a long table. “It was in the storage section.”

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Although the church covers about 520 square meters, ‘and after the renovation another 260 square meters will be added’, according to van der Byl it still feels pleasant – ‘almost cosy’. Two floors will be built on the side of the tower, at the height of the windows and with a view over the Markermeer. The first, at the level of the windows and with a view over the Markermeer, will house the kitchen with cooking island and the living room. The couple goes to sleep on the second floor. A spa with sauna will be built under the tower. Van der Byl’s studio will be located downstairs.

Renovation

Until 2015, church services were held every week in the Martinuskerk. Closing the church was a very difficult process, says Anja Kraal, chairman of Zuiderkogge. The churchgoers from Schellinkhout felt abandoned. The pastor still visits some of them.

Zuiderkogge initially wanted to rent out the church after its closure, and spent 900,000 euros on a rigorous renovation. When the lease failed to materialise, the building was sold to BOEi, a social organization that focuses on the restoration and repurposing of cultural heritage. BOEi wanted it to become a village hall, but the municipality of Drechterland chose another building for this, about a hundred meters away.

sacrilege

Van der Byl would like to preserve the common function of the building. At the front of the church, where the Protestant service used to be, there will therefore be a Bed & Breakfast with three bedrooms, an art gallery and a room that people can rent for ‘mourning and marriage’, dinners and meetings.

For Van der Byl, ‘small scale’ is especially important. “Making the church a space where people feel welcome fits much better in this village than a hotel room with twenty rooms.”

He thinks we should “disconnect the church building from religion.” Times have changed, a lot of churches are empty. “What else can we do with all those beautiful buildings? There was even talk of demolition. Now it is carefully renovated. Then it is not a sacrilege but a beautiful place with good energy.”

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A disgrace

Not everyone in the village is enthusiastic about the new residents. One Schellinkhouter, who does not want his name on the site, thinks the repurposing of the building is ‘a disgrace’. He is in a everywhere in his yard loading a cart. “The church has been renovated for nine hundred thousand euros and now a luxury bed and breakfast is being made into it. While the building belongs to all of us. The municipality of Drechterland should have intervened, but there are no real Schellinkhouters in it anymore.”

Although the Protestant congregation closed its doors in 2015, it was not quiet in the church. Laura van Tol founded the Friends of the Martinuskerk Foundation and organized festivities every month, such as concerts and exhibitions. One of the highlights was Rock in the Church, with Niels van der Gulik.

Nevertheless, Van Tol did not mind handing in the key. The organization took a lot of time and not many people always showed up. She is especially happy that the church is being preserved, for a while there was even talk of demolition. “And those people are very open: you can easily walk in.”

The clock and the flag

The church’s clock was wound every day until last year by the church’s neighbour, Peter Thomas. Every day the Thomas climbed 36 steps. He took over the job fourteen years ago from his father-in-law, who had done it all his life. With the arrival of the new neighbours, Thomas’ task is over: Van der Byl has the clock automated.

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Thomas also flew the flag three times a year in the church: on King’s Day, on May 4 at half-mast and on May 5. Next King’s Day he will climb the tower together with Van der Byl and explain to him how to do it. Thomas doesn’t lose any sleep over it: “I’ll be eighty soon and I think it’s enough.”

Our church

Sylvia Broers, the caretaker of the village hall in Schellinkhout, would rather see the church inhabited than demolished. However, she hopes that the church will remain a bit of the village, and that she will be allowed to have a wedding with it. She has a good feeling about the new residents. “They come here regularly for a bite to eat and are really nice. They do that well. Because they are strangers who have come to live in our church.”

And what does Van der Byl think of his new place of residence? “Neighbors just walk in here to ask if they can help with jobs. Great, I’ve never experienced that before.”