Groenendaal Park

During the heyday of the tulip craze, Amsterdam merchants purchased land in the Haarlem-Heemstede area for summer homes.

Groenendaal park is situated at the site of the former summer home of Amsterdam banker Jan Hope, whose estate Bosbeek was the first example of a large garden in the 'English Style' in the 18th century in the Netherlands.

The grounds are part of a long sandy ridge of deciduous forest running in a straight line from the Hague to Alkmaar.

He wanted to pump water into his estate to grow the unusual plants and trees he had cultivated in the dry sand.

After hearing of power to be had from steam, he wrote to James Watt and Matthew Boulton to order an improved version of the Newcomen engine.

The Groenendaal windmill today, landmark of Heemstede.
1774 model of copper kettle steam engine from Leiden, similar to the one that was built in this windmill in 1781.
A map of Groenendaal park from the 1950s.