A descendant, Willem IV Rongman, lord of Bijgaard, was alderman of Brussels (1418) and was made captain of the city by Philip the Good to put down the crafts rebellion of 1421–22.

His grandson Jan (or Jean) Estor and his mother Margriete van Baenst flirted with Protestantism under the influence of their confidant Antonio de Laymant.

After coming into the sights of the authorities in the spring of 1546, the situation escalated on Christmas Day due to improper behaviour in the parish church.

Gaspard II Schetz, the powerful financier and lord of Grobbendonk, bought Groot-Bijgaarden on 14 February 1549 for 17,800 pounds and sold it six years later to Laurens (or Laurent) Longin of Lembeek.

[2][3] Count Ferdinand van Booischot bought the castle in 1634, and in fifteen years, transformed it to its present appearance.

[4][5][6] The castle is in the Flemish Renaissance style, with red bricks, white stone windows and a blue slate roof.

It is surrounded by a wide moat spanned by a five-arched bridge, headed by two 17th-century heraldic lion sculptures, leading to the drawbridge.