Hof ter Rest

Hof ter Rest is a neoclassical manor house standing along R. Verbelenstraat in Puurs, in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The building went up around 1872 as a residence linked to the nearby Peeters steam mill — it does not yet appear on the Popp map of 1860, which places its construction fairly precisely in the years that followed. Over time the estate was also known under the names Kasteel Peeters and Kasteel Verbraeken, reflecting successive owners of the property.

What does the manor house look like?

Hof ter Rest sits on a rectangular footprint with facades of three to five bays and two storeys. The walls are plastered and whitewashed, topped with a slate roof — a combination typical of neoclassical country houses built in the region during that period. The main facade centres on an entrance flanked by Doric columns, above which sits a balcony enclosed by an iron railing. The principal rooms inside were furnished in an eclectic style, mixing different decorative influences rather than following a single strict convention.

What surrounds the manor house?

The residence is set within roughly 1.72 hectares of landscape-style parkland. At its heart lies an elongated pond with a distinctive narrowing at its centre, crossed by a garden bridge — an iron arch bridge dating from the same period as the house itself, making it one of the oldest surviving elements of the whole estate. The grounds also include a wooden garden pavilion from around 1872, which originally housed latrines, along with an artificially raised mound and carefully placed specimen trees planted as individual landscape accents.

What happened to the mill next to the manor house?

The neighbouring Peeters steam mill ceased operating before the outbreak of the First World War. The industrial buildings tied to the mill were demolished between 1920 and 1922, leaving the manor house itself — originally built as residential support for the mill's owners — as the main surviving trace of that industrial past.

Is Hof ter Rest a protected heritage site?

Yes. Both the manor house and its surrounding garden were granted monument protection on 13 February 1998. The estate was further designated as architectural heritage on 29 March 2019, confirming its value as an example of a nineteenth-century neoclassical country residence with a largely intact historic park layout.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Hof ter Rest located? At R. Verbelenstraat 59, within the municipality of Puurs-Sint-Amands in Antwerp province, on a plot of nearly 18,000 square metres.

Did the building ever carry a different name? Yes, it was historically known as Kasteel Peeters and later Kasteel Verbraeken.

How old is the manor house? It dates from around 1872 — more than 150 years of history, confirmed by its absence from the 1860 Popp map.

What is the oldest feature in the grounds besides the house itself? The cast-iron garden bridge over the pond, built during the same construction period as the manor house.