Gasfitterswoning

The gas fitters house was built in 1913, the adjacent joint gas company of the municipalities of Winkel and Niedorp. Gas fitter is the name for a professional who installs and maintains gas pipes. The joint gas company of the municipalities of Winkel and Nieuwe Niedorp was established by council decision of 5 June 1912. Archives show that in 1933 a condenser (right on the purification house) was placed on the site of the gasworks for gas purification. The director of the gas factory, Y. Meijer, is on the far right of the photo. In addition, from left to right: C. Deinum, C. Koster, Aafje Korver and Eefje Meijer (the director’s daughter). Since the factory did not yield the expected benefits in the following years, the transfer to the municipality of Alkmaar took place. This happened on the council decision of August 27, 1937 and an act of rectification on December 12, 1938. In preparation for this transfer, the municipal councils of Winkel and Nieuwe Niedorp already took a decision in 1937 about a redundancy pay scheme. This arrangement ensured that the staff of the communal gas plant could count on redundancy pay in the event of an honorable discharge. The money was intended to cover the period in a search for a new job. In the archive documents, the functions are described as follows: fitter, stoker, field worker, meter reader-collector and clerk. The amount was determined by length of service and whether he was the breadwinner of a family. With the arrival of natural gas, the gas holders had become superfluous. These were demolished in 1968. In the years that followed, the distillery and the director’s house with office were demolished. In 1974/1975, 20 homes were built on the site of the former gas factory. The gas fitters house is the only one that has been preserved and is a tangible reminder of the gas factory in Nieuwe Niedorp. The building has no monumental status. Sources – Archive municipality of Hollands Kroon – Alkmaar Regional Archives: www.regionaalarchiefalkmaar.nl