From legal services to selling art

The Fischerhuis (Fischer House) has traditionally had a strong link with the history of Ede, and is one of the few listed buildings in the town centre. The oldest part of the house (no. 27) probably dares from 1790, but the date of 1764 has also been mentioned. The newer part (no. 25) was possibly built in the early twentieth century. Between 1819 and 1946 the houses were continuously occupied by practising notaries of the Fischer family. Later, the adjoining house known as De Linden (The Limes,no. 29) was acquired and added to the premises.

The history of the Fischerhuis actually begins in 1819 when the notary Jean Charles Fischer from Amsterdam settled in Ede. He purchased a house on the Grootestraat (later Notaris Fischerstraat) in the village centre, at the time one of the most desirable and lively parts of Ede. The villa Dorpzicht (Village View) was already there, as was the old town hall and opposite this, next to the Fischerhuis was De Posthoorn (The Post Horn), one of the village’s coaching inns and staging posts. The house that Fischer bought was an elegant, white-plastered, neo-classical building. From here Jean Charles practised his official profession as notary, while holding several local public offices. He served as a church warden of the Netherlands Reformed Church for thirty-seven years, for instance, responsible for the arrival of the Great Organ. He was also chief fire officer at the fire department, and in 1872 founded the first Spaar-en Hulpbank on the Grootestraat for local savers.

After Jean Charles Fischer, there were two more generations of Willem Frederik Jacob Fischer notaries in the premises until 1946, drawing up wills and marriage contracts, arranging the buying and selling of property and land. Around the time the family had been there a century, W.F.J. Fischer Jr added an office to the house next door (now no. 25) and named both premises Fischerhuis (Fischer’s House). He too contributed to the local community, devoting time and energy to the conservation of the typical Ede landscape and founding the Society of Ancient Ede in 1924. It is possible that during his time the characteristic trained limes were planted in front of the houses. His daughter, Maria Anna Fischer, married Nicolaas van den Brandhof and the couple lived in De Linden (the Limes), the house next door to Maria’s parents, built around 1818 (now no. 29). In the attic above the Fischerhuis Nicolaas began his insurance office. After the death of his mother-in-law, Maria Anna Fischer-Van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal, Nicolaas took over the main house in 1961 and ran his business from there. By purchasing the house he kept it in the family and to mark the occasion had a special tile tableau made illustrating the history of the dwelling and its inhabitants.
Because the Fischer family were of huge importance to the local Ede community, on 20 December 1949 the local council officially decided to rename the street where they lived the Notaris Fischerstraat.

In 1979 the Fischerhuis and De Linden became listed buildings. When the Ede local council bought the house, in January 2002, the fourth generation of Fischers gave the tile tableau to the new owners for safe keeping. When Simonis & Buunk Art Dealers bought the premises in 2004 in order to extend their exhibition space, the tile tableau was returned to the house, where it now hangs in a prominent position in the hall.  

The restoration of the Fischer House

Immediately after acquiring the premises in 2004 a restoration and conservation plan was drawn up in consultation with the local Historic Buildings Committee and the Historic Buildings Trust. The state of repair of the houses and the fact that they were listed buildings made it a radical and labour intensive project. Moreover, the property also had to be made suitable as an exhibition space. Between 2005 and 2007, a local building contractor, Bouwbedrijf Van Ree, worked carefully on restoring both the exterior and interior: woodwork was repaired, the stained glass fan lights restored and the roof renewed, using some of the original Old Dutch blue tiles. In order to retain the existing beamed ceilings the shutters for protecting the premises were incorporated into the ground. A building solution unique to the Netherlands. The air-conditioning was also hidden from view.

At the front of the property the old lanterns were reinstated and the stone posts returned to their previous condition, with the chains restored by a smithy in the east of the country. Finally the old and subsided cobblestone side walk was relaid, making use of the old stones, which was a meticulous and time consuming job. The limes in front of the building, some of which had perished or had become seriously weakened over the years, were replaced by new, mature examples. Robert Tjebbes of Kwekerij De Limieten, a nursery garden in Huizen, was successful in finding the appropriate trees, which have a decorative grill at their base to provide sufficient oxygen and water for the roots.