It is not entirely clear where IN THE BROWN BEARD, now Markt 29, originally came from. One possibility is the house on the corner of Jodenstraat and Bokstraat, the present Kesselskade. This used to be a street with houses on both sides. The row on the side of the Maas was demolished in 1850 when the canal to Liege was built.
But there must also have been a house of this name in the vicinity of St. Matthias Church. During the iconoclasm of 1566 various church objects were brought to safety in the home of Jacob van den Holte, the brown beard. This was done by neighbours of the church, and they probably did not walk far.
Still, the most likely candidate for "the brown beard" is the corner house of Wijcker Brugstraat/Oeverwal, which was demolished around 1930 when the Oeverwal was widened. The stone was then first stored in the Dinghuis and later, in 1954, re-sited on the Markt.
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