Historic Townhouse Built Against 13th Century City Wall with Wine Cellar and City Garden

Located in the heart of the Hanseatic city of Zutphen, situated on the quiet Bornhovestraat, stands a remarkable property at number 43. The front section of this building was constructed against the thirteenth century city wall, while the rear section was later built on the exterior side of the wall. The merging of these sections took place during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1913, an extension was added to the rear of this townhouse, which now serves as a utility room.

A complete renovation was carried out in 2012, for which the property received the Paltsprijs award. Recent renovations between 2025 and 2026 include the bathroom, kitchen, floor insulation, underfloor heating, interior painting, and renovation of interior doors. These updates have transformed this residence into a unique whole where contemporary comfort meets history. Vaulted cellars and a fantastic garden with an outbuilding complete the picture.

The front facade of Bornhovestraat 43 and 45 together form one unit: a symmetrically arranged wide plastered facade. A double entrance with two identical wooden doors leads to a raised entrance portico. This portico is shared with number 45 and provides access to two separate front doors, of which one is used. Upon entering, you step into a spacious long hallway with a natural stone floor and stylishly designed cabinet wall with wardrobe. The elongated hallway leads past the wooden staircase with fine woodcarving to the rear of the residence.

The dining room and luxury open kitchen was completely renovated in 2025 and 2026 into a luxury open kitchen with a cooking island, poured floor with underfloor heating, and a coffee corner. An authentic mantelpiece with central heating fireplace, high windows with transoms featuring stained glass windows, original built-in cabinets, and French doors to the terrace and garden characterize this space. This spacious dining room and open kitchen offers room for a large elongated dining table and additionally has a cozy round dining area. The luxury kitchen is equipped with all modern built-in appliances including a Quooker, induction hob with integrated extraction and recessed sockets, oven, combination oven microwave, dishwasher, and built-in refrigerator.

In the 1913 extension, a separate toilet and the utility room are located, offering ample storage space, washing machine connection, kitchen unit, and back door. This extension was originally built as a kitchen, and the original display cabinet, mantelpiece, and terrazzo floor are still present. The tiling of the adjacent toilet dates from 1913. In the south facade of the extension, a date stone with the text WB 4-4-1913 has been placed, referring to the applicant of the building permit: Mr. J.W. Brinker Jr.

Through openings in the city wall that are still present, you reach the music room with a niche. Access is provided to a modern second toilet. En suite doors lead to the beautiful spacious living room at the front, featuring oak flooring, plastered walls, and again the high windows. A freestanding robust wood stove provides additional warmth. There is also a door to the central portico.

The staircase to the upper floor is a wooden staircase with original woodcarving, cast iron balusters with a fine claw piece richly decorated with a characteristic curl shape. This leads to a spacious landing where three bedrooms, a luxury bathroom, and a separate toilet are located. The panel doors are beautifully visible and have recently all been renovated.

The spacious master bedroom is located at the rear, spanning the full width of the property. Two large high windows provide beautiful light, wooden floors, and a walk-in closet with transom window. The en suite luxury bathroom from 2025 features a bathtub, vanity unit, walk-in shower, and underfloor heating. A separate luxury toilet with niches completes this floor.

At the front are two spacious rooms with high windows: a study and a bedroom. The front offers a view of Bornhovestraat and the historic inner city of Zutphen with characteristic red roofs and in the distance the tower of the Walburgiskerk.

On the second floor there are four rooms including work and guest rooms, all with entresols, a spacious bathroom with bathtub, walk-in shower, two washbasins, and a separate toilet. The second floor has a spacious landing that at the rear transitions into a separate hallway. This provides access to the rooms at the rear of the property. A large bedroom forming a corner room offers a beautiful view over the gardens. A guest or work room with a niche that could serve as a wardrobe closet is also located here.

At the front are two spacious bedrooms with entresols. One of these rooms also provides access to the shared space with number 45: a centrally located space at the front precisely in the middle, with a center window, a dormer window above it, and in the ridge of the roof the central hoisting beam behind which the hoisting wheel is located. From the entresol of the other playroom, the technical room with central heating boiler and hot water boiler is accessible. This also serves as a storage attic. All bedrooms have two skylights positioned above each other, ensuring good light incidence even on the entresols. All skylights are equipped with blackout window coverings.

The rear section of the property is fully underbuilt with a basement. Access to the basement is in the front section under the stairs through an opening in the city wall. In the basement, the original eighteenth century kitchen has been preserved, partially featuring whitewashed walls, natural stone tile floor, and a mantelpiece. The historic vaulted cellars with barrel vaults are currently used as a wine cellar, a perfect place for a tasting. The basement has a glass door to the outside. The outdoor space is 90 centimeters below ground level and is provided with a masonry retaining wall. A stone external staircase brings you to the level of the garden.

The enclosed garden with lawn and apple trees is surprisingly large for the city center. It also features an outbuilding and rear access including a gate on Boompjeswal. Preparations for a charging point are available. The garden is oriented to the east and south, has three apple trees, a grape vine over the outbuilding, raspberries, figs, lavender, large wisteria, and a climbing rose at the terrace. The garden is enclosed and green with pleached trees. The garden is accessible via the rear path, through the house via the back door in the utility room, via the raised terrace, and also via the basement.

The wooden outbuilding measuring almost 6 by 4 meters is a spacious practical storage area, workshop, or hobby room with a separate bicycle storage area. It has connections for water, heating, and electricity. Next to the back door is a canopy for wood storage and containers.

The property has a municipal monument status. According to the motivating description, the property is of general importance to the municipality of Zutphen due to its architectural, urban planning, and cultural historical value. The house is architecturally important as an example of a composite complex built up from different building masses both inside and outside against the city wall, merged behind wide plastered facades, and due to the authentic interior elements from different periods that have been preserved in good condition. The house is urban planning important because of the recognizability of the spatial development on site in the form of buildings inside and outside against the former city wall.

The former retail destination on the ground floor was converted to full residential use in 2023. With 345 square meters of living space and a spacious garden, this townhouse combines the atmosphere and history of a historic townhouse with contemporary comfort, located in the heart of the Hanseatic city of Zutphen.