The State

The 'sale and demolition' of Kingma State

On 5 and 19 September, the public sale took place of “The KINGMA STATE estate, consisting of a spacious main house, stables, coach house and homes, trees and a plantation, a vegetable garden, footpaths, avenues, ponds, a pigeon coop and swan farm, fishing house and other annexes, owned by the honourable Mr. Jhr. U.J.H. van Beijma thoe Kingma.” The state also consisted of a ‘Zathe’ and several meadows.

The announcement of the sale of the Kingma State estate also mentions the names of notaries public G. Schot and J. van Leeuwen, as well as the dates of the provisional and final auction.

In the provisional auction, prospective buyers were able to bid on the goods, which were then awarded to the highest bidder at the final auction, who then needed to formally accept the goods.

The notice of sale indicates that the sale was requested by the owner Jhr. Ulbo Jetze Heerma van Beijma thoe Kingma, mayor of Franekeradeel, living in Franeker. Moreover, the notice specifies that the Kingma State estate is to be sold and demolished.

On Monday 5 September 1864 at 3 pm, the buildings located on the Kingma State estate in Zweins are provisionally put up ‘for sale and demolition’. This is the provisional auction of the buildings on the estate.

Various conditions are attached to the sale of the buildings, of which the following are particularly interesting: “The coat of arms above the door will be retained by the vendor and will not be co-sold”.

Also “The buyer may start the demolition of the house on the first of October of this year and of the barn and servants’ quarters on the twelfth of November this year, whilst all structures must have been demolished by the fifth of March of the following year.

The highest bid was by Hette Brouwer, a carpenter living in Lekkum, who bid 2686 guilders.

The witnesses were Jackele Feddes Weidema, innkeeper, living in Tzummarum and Hendrik Jaarsma, cobbler, living in Franeker.

The vendor signed the notice of sale with "Heerma van Beijma thoe Kingma". Hette Brouwer was now the provisional buyer of the buildings.

In the subsequent auction on the same afternoon, the other so-called ‘lots’ were sold, including several pieces of pasture and arable land, most of which were located near the State, as well as a house with a barn, a shed and a hornleger (yard) near the bridge of Kingmatille. The land, the gardens, the mound, the driveway, access canal and the gatehouse (also functioning as summer house or tea house) were also sold.

Fourteen days later, on 19 September at 3 pm, the second, final auction was held at the station coffee house owned by innkeeper Van der Meer in Franeker, where prospective buyers could continue bidding on the buildings of the State. The auctioned property was going to be awarded to the highest bidder, who then had to state formally that he accepted the property.

Hermanus Kuilenberg, contractor, and Gerhard Henri Hillebrand, cabinetmaker, who both lived in Leewarden, increased their initial bid on the house by almost 100 guilders, up to a price of 2780 guilders (comparable to approximately 40,000 guilders in current prices). Seeing as this was the highest bid, these two men were now the proud owners of the state, ready to be demolished.

On the same afternoon, at 4 pm, the second auction of the remaining plots began.