Løkken (The Enclosure)
Marker 4.
Lyngby
Løkken (The Enclosure)Marker 4. |
Lyngby
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The former farmhouse "Løkken" with its elaborate gate at 7 Asyl Gade (7 Asylum Street) was built in 1794 as the residence of bleachmaster John Lawrence. He had previously been manager of Bleggaarden (the Bleach Works), but left to establish his own bleach works on the Mill Stream (Mølleåen) at at the other end of his property from Bleggaarden. The buildings of the Bleach Works are preserved today under the name of Dronningens Vaskeri (the Queen's Laundry).The farmhouse originally had a thatched roof, but this was replaced by a tile roof in 1866. The central building was built of bricks and the two side buildings were half-timbered. The end of the main building, which is joined onto the western wing, is a later addition. The eastern wing has been rebuilt, but the rest of the main building and the western wing have retained much of their original appearance from 1794.
John Lawrence's bleach works from 1794 was a small, long and narrow half-timbered house that now forms the northernmost part of the current building. Bleaching could not provide a living for the bleachmaster and the buildings were bought by his neighbour, violinist Claus Schall in 1802, who sold them to Johann Friederich Tutein in 1803. He already owned a large cotton weaving factory in Copenhagen and now expanded the bleach works to its current appearance. The expanded building was designed for the production of cotton prints.
In 1812 the property was divided. The cotton factory building was purchased by Prince Christian Frederik (later King Christian VIII) from Sorgenfri Palace and was used as the laundry for the palace. The building belonged to the royal family and then the state until 1975, when it was bought by Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality who still owns it and leases it to residents.
The actual printing of the cotton materials was done by hand. The fabric was stretched on a press table and the pattern was applied with pressure pads, i.e. blocks of pear and lime wood, into which the design was carved in raised relief. The printing and the subsequent dyeing and finishing were complicated processes, requiring great care.