Exchanging Medieval Material Culture Studies on archaeology and ...

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Hans L. Janssen & Eddie Nijhof
fig. 2 Map of the present-day built-up area of the town of ’s-Hertogenbosch. Th e rectangle indicates the location of the Tolbrugkwartier.
A: the fi rst town-wall, dating from the beginning of the 13th century; 1: excavation Pieterskerk (dbpk, 1984); 2: excavation Loeff plein
(dblo, 1994-1996). Drawing F.C. Schipper (bam), Municipality of ’s-Hertogenbosch.
appears that this windmill (and Cornelis’ premises), was
located just within the town wall, that is to say at the outer
edge of the Tolbrugkwartier30.
In any case we may presume that during the 15th century the
town council did allow the potters along the street ‘Achter
de Tolbrug’ to exercise their business in this quarter of the
town. Th e deciding factor may have been the fact that during
most of the 15th century it was a very low-lying, marshy and
largely uninhabited part of the town in which the presence
30 Stadsarchief ’s-Hertogenbosch, inv. nr. 303-142, fol. 97vso; Idem, Town Resolutions A23, fol. 34 vso. We thank Mr. N. Jurgens for these references.
31 Janssen 1983a, 16-17; De Bruijn 1997a; Treling 2007b; Idem 2007c, 57-62.
of a potentially dangerous and polluting pottery industry
could be tolerated. Only shortly before, during the second
half of the 14th century, this area had been brought within
an extension of the town walls. Gradually, during the fi rst
half of the 15th century, these new grounds were reclaimed
by raising the ground level with the dumping of town refuse,
followed by the building of new houses and three new
nunneries, the St.-Elisabeth Bloemkampklooster (1456), the
Geertruiklooster (1451) and the Nunnery of the Groot-Ziekengasthuis
(c. 1470)31.