In the golden lion

Former tavern with a broad frontage in the style of the so-called Maasland Renaissance.

A not exactly true-to-life lion can be seen on the Gable stone IN THE GOLDEN LION of the beautifully restored house Rechtstraat 69. With its permed curls it is more of a heraldic lion, and with its golden colour originally the lion of Brabant.

In the 16th century this building was already known as a lodge with barns, stables and a tavern where home-brewed beer could be sold. In view of the beautiful year stones AN 17 04 it was rebuilt in that year. At that time Joannes Neven (1686-1750) was the owner, brewer, hotelier and a very wealthy man. He was married to Joanna Froidmont. Daughter Elisabeth Neven, born 1733, was married to Leonardus Tielens, banker (1723-1769).

Behind the building there was a large place to park a cart and horse. Market vendors did that and then went onto the Market. This remained the custom up until WWII. Later, the little St Gerardus Church was built there with its entrance at the Wycker Grachtstraat.

If you compare the photos of the facade of 1912 with those of today, you can see a number of remarkable differences.
The gable stone is made of marl and looks rather worn now, after a period of 100 years.
There is now a cement edge around the gablestone. It has clearly been removed from the facade and relocated. In the same place?
Except that now there are four layers of brick up to the lintel, which cannot be discovered in the photo of 1912.
In any case, something must have been rebuilt in that spot.