Van den Berk Nurseries grew in almost half a century to its current size. In those times growing poplars was a side activity next to stock farming by their father. Immediately after the Second World War, the wood of this fast growing tree was in great demand. It was used for the production of clogs, matches and paper. The first recognised production dates from 1946. By contract father Van den Berk cultivated poplars from cuttings which was NAK-B approved.

In the early sixties, three of his sons joined the company, which was still a mixed farm. In daytime, they worked on the field and in the evenings, they went to school to learn and master the trade of a nurseryman. In those days father Van den Berk managed the money. The brothers, however, got the room to find their way. At first, he adopted an attitude of wait and see, but soon he acknowledged the success of tree growing. After the cutting of Ligustrum and Berberis, the inoculation of roses, the seeding of woodland and park trees such as oak, birch and beech, father was convinced.

After his death in 1964, much knowledge and experience was suddenly lost. Three inexperienced young boys had to manage on their own. Mother Van den Berk had a belief in their sons. They got the room to do business and she allowed them to make mistakes from which they could learn.

The brothers were confident of their capabilities, worked together, but above all hard and long. This was reflected in one expansion after the other. In the period from 1965 to the early seventies stock farming was abandoned. The brothers acquired land conservatively. From that time onwards the company took a more recognisable face. The loamy sandy soil appeared to be suitable for growing avenue trees. This became their chosen specialisation.

In the early nineties one of the brothers decided to leave the company. From that time onwards Paulus and Jan van den Berk have been at the helm of the company. In the sixties, they grew trees on an area of 25 hectares. That has expanded into 440 hectares. The company employs currently 95 people and the third generation of Van den Berk is active in the company. One goal has always been in the mind of the brothers. They want to stand out from the crowd with their nursery. Because of their choice of an extremely wide assortment of mainly large sizes, they have succeeded. The nursery has become a household word with a uniquely composed assortment in a complete range of sizes.

The ‘Donderdonk’ Estate ‘A desolate place’

Early last century Adriaan Cornelis Brock wrote in his chronicle of Sint-Oedenrode that De Donderdonk is “a very desolate place in the Broek [= swampy region]… betwixt the common lane called the Voortstraat (being the passage from Bosch and Houthum, over the Bovenagel Bridge to Best) and the Laakstraat, running along the border betwixt Rode and Best, up until the Broek, not far from the Paalsteede being the three stones where the borders of Rode, Best and Liempde are united together. … In the … publication card of the Municipality of Broek, from Augustus 8 1468, this Paalstede is called Schede-eik, Scheek-eik, as it is situated along the fierce hay fields called De Scheeken”.

The name Donderdonk is explained by Wiro Heesters as: a contraction of ‘De Onderdonk’. The name Onderdonk, according to him, refers to its low location compared to De Vrijheid [= The Free City] Rode. The present Boskant is built on this ‘donk’ [= dry area in marshland]. H. Beijers & G. van Bussel (1996) refer to M. Gijsseling, who mentions an estate called Donreslo, first recorded in 1186, and see a contraction in the name of Donar(s) + lo = the lo or forest of the Germanic god Donar. Another possibility is an identical derivation as in e.g. Donderen, which is called Dunre in 1335. Donderen is linked to three different explanations, namely: a derivation of Dûnheri, which would mean: high land overgrown with forest. The references to something like dunes are not really obvious for a region in the Dommelvallei [= Dommel Valley] in Brabant. The last explanation is most in keeping with the name, as this mentions a ‘donk’, a sandy bench in a swampy area.

An area opened up

The desolation of the Donderdonk isn’t broken until the roads are improved, especially when the secondary roads are built. In the council meeting of Sint-Oedenrode on January 27, 1853, the town fathers have to decide about the planned route of the secondary road from Sint-Oedenrode to Best. The province has made two proposals the council has to choose from:

1. Via the Leunestraat past the Gansendijk, Het Schoor and the de Hoogstraat;
2. Via the Boschkant, the Slijkstraat past the Donderdonksedijk and via the Voortsestraat and the Laakstraat. After long deliberations, where the thriftiness of the council members is the decisive consideration, the choice falls on the second option. The following reasons are given for the decision:

1. Route a. in its present state is better usable then route b. The maintenance is also cheaper. If the council hands over route a. to the province for building the secondary road, the council itself will be responsible for raising route b., something which will have to be done and which will entail considerable costs for the community.

2. Handing over route b. has the considerable advantage that the province will improve the worst part of the road, between Rooi and the Boschkant, by shingling it, which will also improve the connection with Liempde.

3. As route b. runs through the still unsold part of the common marshlands, the value of these uncultivated lands will increase substantially by improving the road.

4. The second option will also have advantageous effect on the exploitation of the ‘scheek’ and ‘buunder’ fields in the area, which now hardly yield any profits and which, with a good supply route for fertilizers, could bring in unfathomable amounts of hay and other products.

Before everything is agreed with the province, it is already 1885. The council ordinance of January 24 of that year has transferred the road from Henkenshage via Boschkant, Slijkstraat, Donderdonksedijk, the Voortstraat and the Lokstraat (as the Laakstraat is now called) up until the border with Best to the province.

The ‘Slotjen Groenedaal’

When Brock wrote his chronicle, the land in Donderdonk belonged to a lot of owners. Still, Brock was of the opinion that Donderdonk must have been one large estate in time long past: “This Estate divided, and belonging to many owners, must, in its entirety, have belonged to one or other nobleman in days of yore, who would have also built a ‘Slotje’ [= manor house] there, and which foundations have been delved up there during the years, on a certain piece of land, called ‘het Burchtje’ [= the Stronghold], lying around in a broad, but partly overgrown moat, on the land of the old Farm or yard in the vicinity of the same domicile. The old traditions say that this ‘Slotjen’ was called Groenedaal.” Nothing has been found about this stronghold in the archives. During levelling work close to the old farm, however, a lot of rubble was found. Still Brocks assumptions hold some truth. In the levy book of Helmond of 1381 it is stated that in that year the children of Egidius van Donresdonck owned about 10 ‘bunder’ (= 13 hectares) of taxable land in Donderdonk. Assuming they also had allodial properties there, chances are that these are the owners of the entire estate of Donresdonck. From the fact that the levies to the Lord of Helmond had to be paid in new pennies, while the rest of the levies, belonging to the Prinsenhoef, still had to be paid in old pennies, we can conclude that the Donderdonk came into existence later than the Prinsenhoef. This was to be expected, as the Prinsenhoef is on average situated two meters higher than the Donderdonk and could be farmed in times with higher water levels than now, while only a few of the higher situated stretches of land – the ‘donks’ – could be used at the Donderdonk.

In 1406 the estate already seems to have been split up into three parts. Half of the estate has come into the hands of Ludovicus, son of Christiaan van Donresdonck. He sells a part which the house on it to his son Cornelius van Donresdonck. The rest comes into the ownership of Rutger, son of Godefridus Pellifex (the Furrier). In 1406 a third part is owned by Wolter, son of Nicolaas Blomarts, and then becomes the possession of Lord Mercelius Moerkens, rector of the altar of Mary, Agatha, Cornelius, Antonius and Barbara in the church of Eerschot. In 1406 a sixth part is owned by Peter, son of Johan Uten Woude.

Around the year 1500 these three parts come into the hands of one person again, Lord Willem, son of Willem (the) Wise, a priest. Lord Willem is rector of the altar of Mary and John the Baptist in the church of Breugel. The estate remains together under the next owner, Lord Johan van Geldorp, priest in the chapel of Saint Oda. The estate was by then probably part of the church estate. By deed, on March 3, 1513, the estate falls into three parts again, “whereby Jan Jan Shovers received the domiciles with farmlands, including so much land as can be sown in with a sack of seed”. A part is transferred to Henrick Peeters van den Gasthuis, who probably acts as guardian of the Table of the Holy Ghost and sells the rights to Cornelius, son of Jan Schovers. The third part comes into the hands of Lambert van Tardwijk.

Division and reunification

Despite lands are divided as a result of inheritances and added to other parts by purchases, the two parts now formed remain largely the same until the beginning of the 19e century. In 1519 the one part is owned by Cornelis Jan Schovers. In 1529 Louis Gijsberts van de Coevering buys the estate of Cornelis Schovers. Jenneke, the daughter of this Louis van de Coevering, inherits the estate on May 17 1568. She is married to Gerard Jan Peter Goossens.

The estate is then inherited by Jan and Emke, children of Gerard Goossens. Emke is married to Jan Jansen van Oorschot. In the property tax book of 1649 the children of Jan Gerard Jan Peter Goossens and the children of Jan Jansen van Oorschot are mentioned as the owners and Aert Hendriks as tenant. Around 1662 Lord Isaak Battem, steward of the church property, acquires this part by purchase. In 1683 the land is sold by execution as the widow Battem can no longer pay the expenses on the property. The new owner is Lord Maurits de la Rivière, captain of a company of foot-soldiers.

His children inherit the estate, but are not capable of paying the expenses, which means that the estate is sold by execution around 1693, by order of the steward. The buyer is Peeter Stevens. It is later inherited by his children and grandchildren: Peternel, daughter of Peeter Stevens, married to Goord Hurckx, Antony, son of Peeter Stevens, and the three children of Marie, daughter of Peeter Stevens.

In 1761 the largest part of the estate is in the hands of the widow and the three children of Goord Hurckx. On February 8, 1798, Anthony, son of Goord Hurckx, inherits the estate. He is a parish priest in Valkenswaard. On March 15, 1798, he sells the estate to Johannes de Roy. In the land registry of 1830 the estate can be found under the numbers 12 up to and including 22, 61, 69 and 70.

Towards the end of the 19e century, the estate comes into the possession of the Van Laack family, the residents of De Kolk. Later one of the daughters, Maria van Laack, married to a mister Maussen, inherits the estate. The Maussen family sells the estate in 1968 to the Van den Berk family, who have been leasing the farm ever since 1938.

The other part that came into the possession of Lambert van Tardwijk in 1513, remains in the hands of this family for many years. Via Lambert and Isabella, children of Lambert van Tardwijk, it is inherited by will by Hendrick, son of Arnold van Tardwijk. Then the six children of Art Henrics van Tardwijk follow. One of those, Henrick Arts van Tardwijk, inherits the estate. His daughter Jenneke, married to Gordt Jansen van Dinther, inherits it, followed by the three children of Henrick van Dinther, a son of Gordt. Maria van Dinther, one of the three children, becomes the owner by inheritance. In 1767 she sells the estate to doctor Gullielmus van Baar, medical doctor in Sint-Oedenrode. Via his son, Johan van Baar, who inherits in 1791, in 1810 the estate comes to the daughter, Marie van Baar, married to J. van Roosmalen. In 1830, when the land registry is first written up, the estate is still owned by J. van Roosmalen and can be found in that year’s registry under the numbers 30 up to and including 32, 36, 37, 80, 82 and 83. In 1975 the then owner, mister Niersman, who owns a fruit farm there, sells this company to the Van den Berk family. Through the years the original farm is gradually transformed into a large tree nursery, which is now exploited by the brothers Van den Berk. As a result of more land purchases the company has been greatly increased in size. History proves to repeat itself again for a third time, and after years of division, the lands have become one large estate again.

Literature

Beijers, H. & G. van Bussel (1996). Van d’n Aabeemd tot de Zsijnsput – Toponiemen in de cijnskring Helmond vóór 1500 in naamkundig en nederzettingshistorisch perspectief. Mierlo: Van Bussel Document Services.

Brock, A.C. (1832) Beschryving der Vryheid St. Oden-rode. Behelzende verhandeling over de gebouwen als kerken, kapellen, gestichten, adelijke sloten, heerlijkheden, leen en andere landgoederen zoo binnen de Oude Vryheid als onderhoorige gehuchten van St. Oden-Rode geleegen.

Heesters, W. (1968) Streeknamen van Sint-Oedenrode – III. Heemschild: 2, No. (23-27).

Koomans, N. (1986) Het goed De Donderdonk. Heemschild: 20, No. 3 (37-42).