On the Leidseweg in Voorschoten lies Berbice estate. Everything breathes the atmosphere of the past. “An estates with a soul,” say the volunteers who work to preserve it. That not only the soul of Berbice but the estate as a whole still exists is due to the work of its last occupant, Rudolpha Begeer (1914-2009). A national highway had almost been built across the grounds. Miss Begeer's rose garden, as she liked to be called, played an important role in the fight against this.
Golden Age
Once there were as many as twenty country estates in Voorschoten. They were built in the Golden Age by wealthy regents and merchants who wanted to spend the summer in style. An estate was a status symbol and investment. There you enjoyed the fresh country air, far from the smelly canals of the city. Voorschoten was easily accessible from The Hague and Leiden and therefore a perfect location. Like many other country estates, Berbice began its existence as a farm. Originally called 'Allemansgeest,' it gradually became a country house with park and orangery. In 1822 the house was named 'Berbice' after the colony near Suriname, where the then owners had amassed their wealth.
1937
When the Begeer family moved to Berbice in 1937, many of the estates in Voorschoten had long disappeared. Berbice had been used for years as a showroom by the neighboring silver factory Van Kempen & Begeer, father Carel was its director and designer. The house was renovated and was given a cultural function thanks to Carel Begeer's extensive network. Since that time, nothing has changed about the interior.
Oldest daughter Rudolpha Begeer was then 23 and busy with her studies in mineral science and gemology. She also went to Paris and Brussels to study art history. Later she went to work as an art dealer. For that work, she traveled all over Europe. The book Desirable Berbice features photographs of a fast convertible and fashionable cocktail dresses that recall this era. Rudolpha played tennis, sailed and went skiing in Switzerland or Italy for a few months every year. This dynamic existence came to an abrupt end in 1966 when she suffered a triple leg fracture in a skiing accident.
Rhineland Road
To rehabilitate, she returned to Berbice to her mother. Her father had since passed away. It took more than two years before she could walk again, and she became very attached to the country home. Just at this time, it was revealed that there were plans to build a road across the property. This was State Highway N 11-West, now better known as the Rhineland Route. The house itself was not directly threatened, but as one of the few people at the time, Ms. Begeer realized that the house and the park as a whole were of great cultural-historical value. In order to save Berbice, she did not limit herself to legal procedures, but also managed to creatively influence public opinion.
Rosarium
On the most threatened piece of land she had a rosarium, a classical rose garden, laid out. If the Department of Public Works was not deterred by a few trees in the way and the vegetable garden, then perhaps an ornamental garden that attracted walkers. Miss Begeer loved roses and personally selected all the varieties. At its peak, there were more than 4,000 rose bushes in the garden. Because she still did not walk well, but did not want to miss anything of the construction, the gardener sometimes drove her around by wheelbarrow. Later, she gave tours of the garden to involve the public in her struggles.
Feisty aunt
The fight against the road lasted for decades and became part of her life's work: preserving the buitenplaats for the future. A characteristic quote from the aforementioned book Begeerlijk Berbice: “To the outside world she was a ‘feisty aunt’ who was not easy to socialize with for tea. If you dared to ring her doorbell you often got no further than the kitchen table. At that table she spent much of her life, together with her cat Poezie. Reading through all the court documents and newspapers, including the Official Gazette, so as not to miss anything that could possibly be of interest to her. On every square inch of the kitchen table were piles of paper. On the tables in the other rooms of the house, by the way, it wasn't much different.”
Over my dead body
At one point, the red and white markers of the Department of Public Works were already in the garden. Still, she managed to force a different route. In the new plan, the road would be just off her property. Berbice was out of the danger zone, but that was no reason for Miss Begeer to give up the fight. As far as she was concerned, there would be no road at all. Besides Berbice, there are therefore more historic buildings and parks in Voorschoten that owe their preservation to her efforts. She also stood at the foundation of the Vereniging tot Behoud van Oud, Groen en Leefbaar Voorschoten, which was founded in 1971 and is still active.
In 2012 it was decided that the Rijnlandroute will come after all. But: through a tunnel under Voorschoten. Whether Miss Begeer would have been at peace with this we will never know. She died in 2009 at the age of 94. She chose the rose garden, now in disrepair, as her final resting place. Should Berbice be threatened again, the grave rights would provide protection for at least ten years. So literal is the message “over my dead body” not often imagined!
Preservation of heritage
Miss Begeer bequeathed Berbice to the Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Country Houses, which she herself founded. The foundation is committed to preserving the unique character of Berbice as a country estate and is supported in this by some forty volunteers. Thanks in part to a contribution from the province, the necessary restoration of the house could be started last year.
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