Hoekstraat 8, Aalten

Overview

The former Becking & Vaags pipe factory on Hoekstraat operated from 1885 to 1925 as part of Aalten’s horn industry, which was unique in the Netherlands. The company produced pipe stems and later also knife handles.

The factory had its origins with two skilled craftsmen: Wessel Becking and Willem te Gussinklo learned pipe-turning from Gerrit Peters. Both then went on a period of Wanderschaft in Germany to deepen their knowledge of the trade.

After returning in 1880, they started their own business, first in a house on the Kattenberg and from 1883 in the building next to Mr Vreede’s furniture shop. That building, with its distinctive bell-shaped gable, was demolished around 1959.

The cadastral map below shows that the two plots on Landstraat and Hoekstraat lie directly in line with one another.

Becking and Te Gussinklo worked together for a short time, but went their separate ways in 1884.

In 1885, Becking joined forces with Bernardus Gerhardus Vaags, nephew and namesake of Bernard Vaags, to establish Becking & Vaags. The factory made pipe stems and later knife handles as well. When sales of German pipes declined, the factory switched to producing short briar pipes.

In 1907, the factory acquired its present appearance. Based on a design by municipal architect Jan Brill, the building was extended with an engine room, storage room, workshop, changing room and lavatory.

Trade with Germany declined after the First World War. In 1921, the factory was shut down for a time; production was later resumed, but only three days a week. In September 1925, Becking & Vaags was still listed as an exhibitor at the Leipzig Trade Fair. Not long afterwards, the company was liquidated.

During the 1950s, the building served for a time as a nursery school, until the new Beatrix School on Oosterkerkstraat was completed.

The building on Hoekstraat still stands and has been designated a municipal monument. The chimney, however, has disappeared.