‘t Velde House was built just a stone’s throw away from the more famous De Voorst House in Eefde, and in 1748, played host to a rather unique character, namely Theodor von Neuhoff. Von Neuhoff was the German adventurer proclaimed King of Corsica in 1736. Today, the house serves as a police academy and a hotel.
Origins
‘t Velde House dates back to the Middle Ages, but owes its current appearance to renovation work carried out in 1597. The two-stepped gables that adorn the back of the building are so different from the front, that ‘t Velde House has been dubbed ‘the house with two faces’. In 1691, the house came under the ownership of Arnold Joost van Keppel who also owned the nearby De Voorst House. Van Keppel added an extension to ‘t Velde House and landscaped the estates around both properties, with the Berkel river acting as a natural divide.
King of Corsica
In 1745, the house was acquired by Jan Adolf Hendrik Sigismund, Baron of Dorth. In the summer of 1748, one of his distant relatives, Theodor von Neuhoff came to stay. Theodor, Baron of Neuhoff, was a German adventurer who had travelled all over Europe and entangled himself in the struggle for independence on Corsica. The people of Corsica rewarded him for his efforts in 1736 by crowning him King Theodor I, the first and only king of Corsica. After just a few months, Von Neuhoff was forced to flee for his life and left the island. He continued his adventures, including imprisonment in London, which finally brought him to the Achterhoek region.
Female activist
Lady Judith, the unmarried daughter of Baron van Dorth gained notoriety for her outspoken support of the House of Orange. She was a somewhat eccentric and impulsive lady who was involved in politics in a manner unusual for a woman of her time. During the clashes between the monarchists and the republicans, Judith was taken prisoner, tried and executed in 1799. This made her the only woman to be executed for political reasons in Dutch pre-war history.
