Reserveren · Cadeaubon · Gastenboek

History of ‘t Huys Grol

History of ‘t HUYS GROL in Renesse

Huis Strijland
Volgens het oudst bewaarde “veldboek”, uit 1599 van Schouwen, woonde landbouwer Jan Leendertszoon hier.

Around 1690, the Amsterdam merchant Marinus de Jonge thoroughly renovated Huis Strijland into the country estate ‘t Huys Grol.

GROL, as Marinus de Jonge named his estate around 1690, means ‘green’. ‘Grol’ as an old Dutch name for ‘green’ can also be found in ‘Grollo’, the old name for the town of Groenlo.

In 1804, ‘t Huys Grol was largely demolished and rebuilt on its foundations. A gable stone at the rear of the house states: ’Adriana Jobina Tromp, laid the first stone on June 12, 1804.

Later, the large landowner Jacob Hoogenboom came to reside in Huize Grol. When he became mayor of Renesse 17 years later, he had ‘t Huys Grol thoroughly renovated in 1870. An imposing mansion was built at the front, as befits a mayor. The rear of Huys Grol remained largely intact. He also commissioned the blacksmith of Renesse, Gilijamse, to create the beautiful wrought-iron gate. The three yew trees on the village side of the house, a great rarity for that time, were also planted then. They are now over 150 years old.

During the war, the house was requisitioned by the Germans. It functioned as the ‘Ortskommandantur’. In the final year of the war (1944), it was used as a hospital for a year.




The Van der Aart Family
After years of vacancy and further decay, ‘t Huys Grol was sold on August 15, 1974, to biologist Peter van der Aart and his wife Margriet van den Berg.

In 1975, Margriet van der Aart began renting out two rooms to seaside visitors during the summer months. The first B&B in Renesse was thus established.

Margot van der Aart and Michiel Smit
The parents eventually wished to pass on Huys Grol and its guesthouse function to one of their children. Margot and Michiel, who lived in Utrecht, were eager to continue the guesthouse. In 1999, they resigned from their jobs (at a travel agency and in telecommunications) to run the guesthouse together.

In 2007, they purchased ‘t Huys Grol. In 2019, Margot and Michiel moved from the guesthouse (from the current bungalow in the backyard) to Stoofweg 5, diagonally across from the guesthouse.