The “Lord” of a Very British-Irish Dutch Castle

When it comes to European castles, England’s manor homes, France’s Chateaus and Germany’s baronial hilltop estates often take precedence. However, in the Gelderland Province of Zutphen County in The Netherlands, a tightly woven system of castles, open lands, forests and farms is working hard to preserve the rustic nature of the region. 

Every year, thousands of Dutch city dwellers escape the hustle and bustle of the Randstad and head east to the Achterhoek region of Holland for their holidays. Here, the local dialect is proudly spoken and the strength of family and character of the “platte grond” is celebrated.

Cycling the 8 Castle Bicycle Route of Vorden, visitors can view the former summer residences of Western Holland’s rich and famous from a private distance through iron gates and long entrance roads. However, the de Wiersse castle of E.V. (Peter) Gatacre is an exception. Every year, Peter and his family open the 47 hectares of formal and wild gardens to the public, and the gardens have been featured in many magazines. 

Peter talks fondly of his family’s interesting blend of Dutch-English history and of his childhood spent sailing the creek behind the castle. Everything needed was produced in the self-sustaining community of 14 working farms, which included a cheese and milk factory, woodworking shop and an orchard of flowering nut and fruit trees. 

Unfortunately, the battle between expansion and maintaining the status quo has been raging in the region for decades. Construction cranes have become the Dutch national bird as row upon row of American style tract houses take over hectares of once fertile farmland. Some cities in this region have grown by as much as 50% in the last ten years, and this trend shows no sign of slowing. Peter remarks, “the bombing during the war was bad, what the town planners did afterwards was worse.”

Peter de Wiersse has been a part of his mother’s family since 1678 and he is determined to ensure the legacy of the estate continues for many more generations. His nine children, some of whom have studied formal gardens, land management and museum curatorship, are well-equipped to carry on the family tradition. 

Peter’s family tree is fascinating, with his father William Gatacre being a British-Irish prisoner of war exchanged with France during WWI. His mother, Alice de Steurs, was the daughter of Dutch preservationist Victor de Steurs, who was the head of the National Department of Monuments, Museums and Archives and a member of the Dutch parliament. De Steurs is credited with the creation of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the first catalogue raisonné of the Mauritshuis. His personal collection and papers are housed in the castle’s carriage house and one of Peter’s daughters has taken on the task of preserving it. 

The gardens, which Alice began building after WWI, are particularly close to Peter and Laura’s hearts. Unfortunately, they fell into disrepair during the second war when the family was forced to evacuate to England, and after the war, shortages made it difficult to maintain them. Nevertheless, Alice wrote in Floralia in 1924 that they should “avoid the trap of making a ‘museum of plants’, not too many varieties, too many colors, but go for strong groups, simple combinations, repetition in a loose but regular pattern”. This blend of wild and sculptured elements continues to draw thousands of visitors each year. 

Peter read history at Oxford, but his true passion was de Wiersse. After university, he ran a museum near Zwolle for many years and returned to the castle every weekend to help his mother. It wasn’t until the main road to Zutphen was paved in 1960 that the castle became more accessible, and it was only after Alice passed away that Peter took on a more active day-to-day role in castle management. 

Now, Peter and estate manager Jan Keurentjes manage a business across 300+ hectares of forests and fields. Jan has been with Peter for 17 years and has seen his role shift from spending 75% of his time outdoors to 25%. This week, they are clearing the forests of all non-indigenous trees to prevent disease from wiping out many strains. 

Peter is also an active member of an informal association of 40 property owners working to preserve the Achterhoek region’s unique and picturesque heritage. He is determined to bring common sense and preservation back to the region, believing that in our current “throwaway society” we are losing our connection to the past. As I leave the castle, I can’t help but think that this is something Victor would have said to the Dutch parliament.

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