The hidden church

After the Beguines were obliged to surrender their church, they worshipped in the church sacristy, until this sacristy was in turn appropriated. Then they worshipped in one of the small houses in the yard, not always the same one.
The first steps in the construction of the present chapel were taken as early as 1665, after joining two houses bought for that purpose at the initiative of parish priest Van der Mije (1665-1700); his nephew laid the foundation stone on 2 July 1671. The municipality approved the building plans on condition that the building did not look like a church from the outside.

The chapel was designed by the Catholic architect in Amsterdam, Philips Vingboons (1607-1678), and was dedicated to St John the Evangelist and St Ursula.

In its present form, it has a gallery with a left and a right section, resting on six wooden columns. The front with its leaded ogive windows dates only from the 19th century.

When the present chapel was opened in 1682, 150 Beguines and 12 widows or single women lived in the Beguinage.