Category: Sunday Schools

  • Sunday school Heurne

    Sunday school Heurne

    Brethouwerweg 9, Heurne

    Until 1989, a small Sunday school stood at Brethouwerweg 9 in the Aalten hamlet of Heurne, where Sunday school was held once a week for children up to the age of 12. After reaching that age, they could attend the youth club, which also took place once a week. Occasionally, the building was also used for small parties and gatherings.

    Regarding the old Sunday school, we read in De Graafschapper of 22 October 1937, among other things:

    Commissioning of the new Sunday School hall in Heurne

    Last Wednesday was a happy day for many residents of the hamlet of Heurne near Aalten. On this day, the completely renovated Sunday school hall was festively and officially commissioned. With this, this hamlet has also been released from its so-called isolation regarding a good location to hold meetings.

    It was more than necessary. The old, small building, which had been erected with very primitive means at the time, was in such a desolate state despite various repairs over the years that a new building or a complete renovation proved more than necessary. The latter has now been achieved through the well-meaning cooperation of many within and outside this hamlet. The building itself has, among other things, two reasonably spacious rooms, which are connected in such a way that, in the event of large meetings, etc., one large room can be obtained.

    On Wednesday evening, the official opening took place for the elders and interested parties. The chairman of the Building Committee, Mr H.G. ter Maat, opened this festive gathering by having Psalm 89:1 sung and led in prayer. He then read Psalm 147. In his opening address, he expressed thanks to all who cooperated to achieve the construction and completion of this project.

    After a break, a beautiful report followed from Mr J.W. Colenbrander, secretary of the Building Committee, as well as from Mr H. Navis, treasurer. The delegate of the Boys’ Meeting conveyed congratulations and presented the chairman with a beautiful gift for wall decoration. A recitation by Mr J. Legters closed this second part before a new break.

    Subsequently, Mr S. Wevers spoke on behalf of the Association of Sunday School Teachers. Several recitations by Mr H. Hoftijzer (Veenhuis) and Colenbrander provided the necessary variety. The dialogue by Messrs H. and G. Wesselink and Klein Poelhuis was also superb in one word. Mr H. Nijman spoke an earnest and inspiring word after having told several interesting things from the old days regarding the rise and further development of youth work in Heurne.

    Finally, the chairman thanked everyone who had cooperated in the success of this evening; he then handed over the building to Mr J.H. Jentink, as chairman of the Association that will manage the building. The latter finally spoke a concluding word, after which this festive meeting was ended.

    D’n Heurnsen Tref

    Heurne is a rural district without a central core. There is no school or café and no clear focal point. Therefore, the Heurns Belang (Heurne Interest) association devised a plan to transform the small Sunday school into a slightly larger community centre that could be used for multiple activities. A round of visits to the residents of Heurne to hear if there was interest in this and if they were potentially willing to contribute financially had a positive result.

    Heurns Belang hired an architect and applied for a building permit for a new community centre. To keep costs low, many volunteers helped with the construction. On 6 April 1990, the building was festively opened, and the fitting name, devised by a resident of Heurne, was revealed: ‘D’n Heurnsen Tref‘ (The Heurne Meeting Place).


    Address history

    Address directory 1934

    Heurne 57 > 49

    Sunday school hall

    Address directory 1967

    Heurne 49 > Kappersweg 2

    Sunday school hall

    Features


    Cadastral no.R-854
    FunctionSunday school
    Year of constructionunknown
    Demolition1989
  • Sunday school Lintelo

    Sunday school Lintelo

    Schooldijk 1, Lintelo

    In the nineteenth century, Reverend Breukelaar had arranged that Sunday schools were established in Aalten. For children in the surrounding districts, the Sunday school was held at someone’s home on a farm, so that the children did not have to travel all the way to the village.

    Gradually, a need arose within the hamlets to build dedicated rooms or small Sunday school houses (zondagsschoolhuuskes). A total of nine small Sunday schools were eventually built, of which only a few have been preserved.

    Lintelo formerly had two Sunday schools. In the heart of Lintelo, on Schooldijk, a small Sunday school stood on land belonging to the Helmink family. It was demolished in 1950. In 1934, the building’s address was Lintelo 150. A residential house was built at this location in 1953, which became Schooldijk 1 in 1967.

    Additionally, there was a Sunday school on Sondernweg in Lintelo. That building still stands today and currently serves as a vacation rental.

    Features


    Cadastral no.L-66
    FunctionSunday school,
    Vacation rental
    Year of constructionunknown
    Demolition1950
  • Sunday school Dale Oost

    Sunday school Dale Oost

    Walfortlaan 2a, Dale

    The “Walfort” Sunday school association in Dale was founded in November 1934, according to its statutes. This date marks the first board meeting; however, the earliest recorded members’ meeting dates back to 28 November 1930.

    According to a newspaper report from 1937, before this small building was established, Sunday school education was held at the Havezathe ’t Walfort estate.

    Due to a lack of interest, Sunday school activities were ceased in 2000. The school building was sold in 2007. The association’s archive was donated to the Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers (Heritage Centre) in 2013.

    There was also a Sunday School Dale West, located near the present-day Romienendal on the Aladnaweg.


    Address directory 1967

    Dale 151/1 > Walfortlaan 2

    Sunday school hall

    Features


    Cadastral no.P-161
    FunctionSunday school
    Year of construction1935
    Listedno
  • Sunday school Lintelo Veur

    Sunday school Lintelo Veur

    Sondernweg 9, Lintelo

    Former Sunday school dating from the early 20th century, restored and converted into a vacation rental.

    In the nineteenth century, Rev. Breukelaar ensured that Sunday schools were established in Aalten. For children in the surrounding hamlets, Sunday school was held at someone’s home on a farm, so the children did not have to travel all the way to the village. Gradually, a need arose in these hamlets to build a local hall or zondagsschoolhuuske (Sunday school house). A total of nine small Sunday schools appeared, only a few of which have been preserved.

    In the rural district of Lintelo, there were formerly two Sunday schools. In the centre of Lintelo, there was a small Sunday school on the Schooldijk, but this was demolished around 1950. The ‘Lintelo Veur’ Sunday school was built in 1924. Originally, the school had two rooms and was considerably more spacious than most Sunday schools in the municipality of Aalten.

    Foundation

    That the plans in Lintelo were serious was evidenced by the official publication in the Staatscourant (Government Gazette) regarding the establishment of the ‘Zondagschoolvereniging te Vóór Lintelo’ (Sunday School Association for Vóór Lintelo). At a meeting in May 1924, the 17 members present decided that a ‘hall’ should be built to be used as a Sunday school for children from Lintelo.

    To build the hall, money and land were required. To raise funds, a collection was held in Lintelo as well as in the surrounding hamlets. Quotes were requested from various contractors. Initially, they considered a building with one large room measuring eight by five metres. Eventually, they decided the building should be larger—albeit more expensive—but, as the reasoning went, cheaper per square metre.

    The building would have two rooms and a separate storage area. A second collection was held to raise additional funds. The necessary land was also found; for a symbolic amount, a small piece of land was acquired from the former Schenk farm, at the corner of the Veldweg and Sondernweg.

    From 1925 onwards, the children came to ‘Lintelo Veur’ every Sunday. Each year at Easter, there was a larger children’s party. This continued until the war. During the war, the occupying forces confiscated the Sunday school for use as storage. The Sunday school was forced to be held on a farm again. Immediately after the war, the Sunday school was designated as emergency housing.

    It took until the end of 1950 for the association to regain the building following a lawsuit. The building was refurbished and was ready just before Christmas. It was returned to use with a festive Christmas celebration. With this Christmas party, a new tradition was born that continued until the mid-90s: every child received a book annually during the Christmas party. A small notebook was kept to meticulously record which child had received which book and when.

    Gradually, the number of children attending Sunday school declined. Over seventy years after the founding of the ‘Zondagschoolvereniging te Vóór Lintelo’, the decision was made to dissolve it at the end of 1995. The property was sold.

    Listed

    Five years later, in 2000, the Sunday school was placed on the municipal monument list because “it is a good example of a traditional school from the early 20th century. With its prominent location, it is of particular importance for the original character of the area. It is important for keeping the development of education in the municipality of Aalten in the twentieth century visible.”

    The small building was subsequently used regularly for parties and as a rehearsal space for a band. However, the condition of the building gradually deteriorated.

    Vacation rental

    In 2008, the current owners began making plans. After consultation with the municipality, it turned out that a vacation rental was the most achievable scenario. However, the building was not insulated, and there was no upper floor. A thorough and sustainable approach was required. Work began in early 2012. Gradually, unexpected old elements reappeared, such as old doors with their characteristic green colour, the frames around the doors and windows, and the dark oak ceiling.

    Today, the little school looks beautiful again and is available for overnight stays.

    Features


    Cadastral no.L-822
    FunctionSunday school
    Year of construction1924
    ListedMunicipal
    monument
  • Sunday school Haart

    Sunday school Haart

    Kriegerdijk 10, Aalten

    The small, single-classroom schoolhouse in the rural area between Aalten and the German border was built in 1924 on the initiative of the Reformed Church council.

    This type of one- or two-classroom Sunday school building could be found in various hamlets throughout the Achterhoek region. In those days, the roads from these areas to the villages were often little more than simple cart tracks. Particularly in winter, these became nearly impassable dirt roads. Much of the land in this area had only recently been cleared for cultivation.

    The plot of land on which the building stands was once part of a patch of forest (wasteland) that local farmers were in the process of reclaiming. An association of parents with school-age children purchased this piece of land and built the small schoolhouse using their own contributions.

    In this Sunday school, a number of parents took turns telling stories from the Bible and teaching the children Christian songs. The number of children attending varied between 12 and 30. Rev. D. Breukelaar from Aalten and Rev. J. van Dijk from Doetinchem had a significant influence on this work.

    Around 1925–1930, partly due to the emancipation movement, a girls’ association and a women’s association were founded. The girls’ association met there weekly, and the women’s association met once a month. At these meetings, the Bible was studied, but social topics were also discussed, such as the position of women in the church and in politics.

    From 1945 until 1997, boys’ and girls’ clubs met here, discussing the Bible and/or themes relevant to young people. Both the Sunday school and the clubs operated under a Parents’ Association, which maintained the building. Due to various societal changes, all these associations eventually ceased to exist.

    In 2005, the Geldersch Landschap & Kasteelen foundation received the Sunday schoolhouse as a donation from the Haart-Heurne Parents’ Association. In order to preserve the small building, a suitable new purpose was sought. Since 2009, it has been available for rent as a holiday home.

    Website: zondagsschoolhuusken.nl


    Owners

    Overview is incomplete.

    YearPlotOwnerDescription

    Address history

    Address directory 1934

    Haart 113

    Sunday school hall

    Address directory 1967

    Haart 113 > Kriegerdijk 13

    Sunday school hall

    Features


    Cadastral no.R-543
    FunctionSunday school,
    Vacation rental
    Year of construction1924
    MonumentMunicipal
    monument