A large church in a village that failed to become a city
Authors: Van Dam Michel 
Published: November 2024

The Oude Jeroenskerk in the South Holland coastal village of Noordwijk is the largest, and one of the most perfectly preserved, late medieval village churches in the provinces of South and North Holland. Compared with the village in which it stands and the village churches in the surrounding area, the Oude Jeroenskerk is not just beautifully proportioned, but above all remarkably large. This phenomenon – a large church in a small settlement – is clearly interesting, yet it has never been the subject of specific research.
Following the miraculous discovery in 976 of the bones of Jeroen, a missionary murdered in 856 by the Norsemen, the ancient Nordcha settlement developed into a place of pilgrimage with urban tendencies. The subsequent ‘discovery’ of Jeroen’s skull in around 1316 furthered the growth of both the village and the church. On 1 April 1398 the village was granted a city charter, but this was subsequently withdrawn on 12 March 1399.The applicants’ right to make such an application was challenged and those involved had plainly underestimated the costs associated with city status. What remained was an under-construction large church, which was eventually completed in around 1500.
The construction and appearance of the Oude Jeroenskerk would seem to have been heavily influenced by the count and the local nobility, beginning with Count Dirk II, who granted permission to erect a church in 976. The architects of the brick church are unknown, but it is conceivable that the first element, a tower (1260), was the work of the master craftsman Albrecht van Velsen. In the same period he was involved in the erection of the Leeuwenhorst Cistercian convent in nearby Noordwijkerhout. The phase in which the church acquired its three-aisle, pseudo-basilica layout was possibly initiated by Count Albrecht van Beieren (1336-1404). It was he who heeded the desire of a group of ambitious villagers to elevate their village to the status of a city. This assumption is based on remarkable similarities in floor plan and elevation with the Sint Jacobskerk in ’s-Gravenhage before its radical renovation between 1434 and 1492. It is assumed that the transept (1389) in that church was commissioned by Albrecht. It was during Albrecht’s period of office that the current choir of the Oude Jeroenskerk was built (1389-1405), followed by the transept and three-aisle nave (1415/1425-1444/1500).
The Sint Jacobskerk became the main church, located in the administrative heart of the county. The Oude Jeroenskerk remained an important pilgrim church up until the Reformation. A church of substantial proportions that reflected contemporary urban aspirations and still looks like an urban parish church. In terms of materials and detailing it was simple and sober and as such comparable with village churches in the surrounding area and with the Sint Jacobskerk in ’s-Gravenhage until the latter’s reconstruction in 1434.
Noordwijk had the potential to grow into a small city. It had the status of a place of pilgrimage, was a religious centre and boasted a relatively large population, including members of the nobility. A large church capable of accommodating local residents and pilgrims corresponded with the urban ambitions of a group of locals. Although those briefly realized ambitions were soon dashed, what remained was the Oude Jeroenskerk: a gothic, pseudo-basilica cruciform church with a square-based tower incorporated on three sides in a three-aisled nave.