(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Last summer I made an effort to walk down streets I had never walked along before and was rewarded by finding a multitude of beautiful buildings that I photographed and wanted to find out more about.
This one has it’s own name board in the brickwork “Industrieschool voor meisjes” (“Industrial school for Girls”) and can be found close to the Laan van Meerdervoort on the Van Diemenstraat 202.
As a result of a report made by the Department of the Society for the Promotion of Industry, a school of Industry was opened for little girls in 1876.
It was intended to educate little girls from the middle and lower classes by equipping them with in-depth training to enable them to earn a living by home economics based activities which were deemed suitable, honest, decent and appropriate occupations for females at the time.
The school opened with 26 students in the Van Assendelftstraat but despite using space reclaimed from a nearly filled-in canal, the school grew so quickly that a new premises was soon needed.
The task was given to architect J.J. van Nieukerken in 1887, who designed a richly decorated seven-roomed school with staircase gables and roof vault in the renaissance revival style. In 1890 the school was built in the Van Diemenstraat 202, for 37,873 guilders.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
The school continued to grow steadily and by 1900 the building was extended by six rooms to accommodate the 170 students.
Ten years later this became an imposing structure as the number of students continued to increase and changes were made as “industrieonderwijs” (industrial development) now changed in the name and it was called ” huishoudonderwijs” (Domestic development)
in 1960 it underwent a name change and became known as the “Prinses Beatrixschool”
The website invites comments by anyone who has a memory of this building and there was one response by Joke Farla-Rietveld that says ” after primary school I went in September 1949 to the Industrial school for young girls in the Van Diememstraat.
It was a very old building with wooden staircases and all of the equipment was old and worn out. The director was a mevrouw (Mrs) van der Bild-Doornheim and the teaching staff comprised almost all unmarried ladies. The professions of study were: Dutch, geography, history, biology, English and French.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
The common education was called AVO, and we also learned to sew, embroider, wash, brush, clean, polish silver and cook. The brushes were all very old fashioned and the irons were made hot on a large iron plated hob with a gas burner underneath.
You had to use thick rags to handle the irons and you had to watch out for scorch marks and be careful not to burn yourself. I had lessons here for five years and was glad I could leave. On the gable above the entrance door is a decoration in brick that says ” industry school for little girls“
On the 1st of May 1982 the school passed into the hands of the City Council and three years later it was moved to a premises in the Theresiastraat.
For photos of what the school looked like inside click on:
http://www.budve.nl/Zeeheldenkwartier/006/006.htm
(text = Dutch language only)
This text was translated using information found at:
http://www.haagsescholen.nl/index.php?option=com_groepsfoto&view=instantie&id=1178&Itemid=54
(text = Dutch language only)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
