The Dutch Reformed Church in Leur dates from 1614 and is a national monument. The building stands at the corner of Lange Brugstraat and the (current) Van Bergenplein. The Leurse Vaart used to flow in front of it, which was filled in in the 1960s. The interior of the church contains three decorated text boards (1616-1648), pews with neo-Gothic letter panels and an organ by Jacobus Zeemans (1716). It is currently used as a wedding church.
At the beginning of the 17th century, a fair number of Reformed people already lived on the Leur. Having no church of their own, they attended church in Breda. The increase of members became so great that already on Christmas Day 1612 they elected their first council of churches, consisting of four elders and two deacons. On June 10, 1614, the congregation's first pastor, Rev. Gualterus Gerbrandi Pomeranus, was confirmed in office.
The congregation now had its own pastor but no church yet. Immediately after his appointment, Pomeranus set to work to build a church. Together with an elder, he undertook a number of begging trips through the regions of the country. In the process, he collected 1819 guilders and 8 pennies, a formidable sum for the time. With permission from Prince Maurice, the wood needed for construction was allowed to be cut in the nearby Liesbos.
The Reformed themselves bought a piece of land at the corner of today's van Bergenplein and Lange Brugstraat. Here had stood the Roman Catholic chapel that had been burned down in 1584 during the 80-year war. They also bought the adjacent house and yard and construction could begin. The church was inaugurated in 1615. Until the peace of Munster in 1648, the church fulfilled a regional function and the Protestants from Etten, Hoeven, Sprundel, Princenhage and de Beek attended church there. This was no longer necessary after 1648 because they were assigned the Catholic churches in those places.
The little church has been rebuilt and restored several times over the past 400 years. The largest rebuilding took place in 1791. The two roofs were replaced by one roof. Practically all these years the building was maintained by the Protestant congregation, only after 1648 until the French Revolution, maintenance was provided by the local government partly at the hands of the power-hungry bailiff Cornelis Cornkoper.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the financial position of the congregation became increasingly dire and the maintenance of the church became too much of a
burden. On June 30, 1952, the church administrations of the communities of Etten and Leur met and decided to work together. Together they appointed a pastor who would preach in both Etten and Leur. On September 1, 1965, the congregations were completely merged and the little church in Leur was no longer used for worship. Until the commissioning of the new church center De Baai in 1970, the Protestants of Leur had to rely on the church in Etten. For a symbolic sum, the church was transferred to the municipality of Etten-Leur . After a thorough restoration, the former Dutch Reformed Church of Leur was inaugurated as a municipal wedding church on June 19, 1971.
Inside the church is a remarkable Jacobus Zeeman organ from 1716 with a beautiful sound. In front is still the oak pulpit with moulding panels, a baptismal railing and brass lectern, all from about 1650. Also unique are the three text boards with pediments and sashes painted with ships and landscapes with the texts, the Ten Commandments (1616), the Creed (1643) and the Lord's Prayer (1648). The church also contains some old tombstones from the end of the 17th beginning of the 18th century, including those of the family of sheriff Cornelis Cornkoper. Since 1992 a carillon has hung in the church tower.
In the summer of 1881, Van Rappard came to visit the Van Gogh family at the rectory in Etten. They became friends in Brussels and have continued to correspond ever since. Vincent was delighted to come to Etten to stay. Together they visited the Dutch Reformed Church in Leur. Van Rappard makes a drawing on this occasion.
I still think so often about that reader that you signed under the sermon of the WelEerw. Zeergel. Lord Rev. Kam' , Vincent wrote to him afterwards.
Pastor jan Gerrit Kam is a close acquaintance and colleague of Vincent's father. In case of absence or illness both ministers took care of each other. Vincent reports to Theo: "Yesterday Dad went to Zundert & Moe went with him ─ also Cor & I walked to the Sprundelsche heath and back together. In the afternoon Rev. Kam preached here for Dad so that Dad & Moe could stay a bit longer in Zundert & were not in such a hurry & could visit Prinsenhage on their return. Around dinner time they returned, just when I had walked up the Leursche road with Rev Kam.
The relationship between the families was close. One of the photo albums in the Kam family archives contains a portrait photo of Reverend Theodorus van Gogh. The two youngest of the family Van Gogh, Willemien and Cor, were educated at the home of Reverend Kam, because the latter had a governor in his employ. During his stay at the parsonage in Etten, Vincent regularly hung out with Reverend Kam's children, who, like himself, had artistic ambitions. In the Kam family archives, several sketchbooks of Jan Benjamin, his brother Willem Hendrik and sister Catharina Cornelia with drawings made around 1881 in Etten and Leur have been preserved. A number of depictions of landscapes and models show striking similarities to drawings by Vincent. For example, a sketchbook of Catharina Cornelia contains a pencil drawing of a potato-skinned peasant woman that closely resembles a model Vincent drew in Etten-Leur.
