The former farmstead "Hof ter Hille"

In 1342, the Ten Duinen Cistercian monastery bought a “Hof” (farmstead) from the French aristocrat Ferri de Picquigny and after 1600 it was named “Hof ter Hille”. This became 77 hectares in surface area, but later lost half to “de Labeure”. The Koksijde abbey rented both farms out as a tenant farm.

Hof ter Hille suffered greatly due to the many wars. In the late 16^th century and during the French/Spanish wars (1635-1713) the farm was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The estate was usually run as a mixed farm. At the start of the 18^th century, it specialised in breeding stallions. Until the end of that century, successive tenants were related to each other through marriage.

The history of the farm goes back to at least the 13^th century, but historical information is only made available as from the 14^th century. The farm was enclosed by a moat 11 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep. These sizes point to the status of the residents. As was the case with Ten Bogaerde, another abbey farm in Koksijde, an impressive gatehouse gave access to the site with the living quarters and agricultural buildings.

Immediately thereafter, the region had to experience the vicissitudes of war. Tenants had to guarantee repairs and renovations several times. Wall anchors on the west facade testify to thorough repairs in 1698. The beautiful roof structure made of elm wood dates from this period. Around 1800, the kitchen was refurbished with pine beams. The wooden stairs to the raised room/vaulted cellar date to 1819.

In 1919, the family Van Zuylen van Nyevelt auctioned Hof ter Hille. Jules Nollet from Wulpen, son-in-law of Henri Depotter, bought the farm and part of the land. He started renovation work and modernisations and agricultural workers and horses were replaced with machines.

Farms often had their own bake house, which was separated from the other buildings due to the risk of fire. A new bake house arrived around 1890 at Hof ter Hille, built on top of the old moat around the farm. It consists of a baking oven mounted on top of a ventilation shaft to keep the building free from rising damp. It has a fairly large front building. Half a century later, a privy (WC) was added to the bake house.

In 2000, the municipality of Koksijde took the initiative to develop a golf course. It acquired the Hof ter Hille farm and the surrounding land as from 2006. Golf course architect Jeremy Pern designed the golf course while paying attention to the economic aspect, the natural environment and the landscape. In addition, this was all done with history in mind and this is how the centuries-old Hof ter Hille farm has been integrated.