Vanden Geyhn et Van Aerschodt

Vanden Geyhn et Van Aerschodt refers to the long Belgian bellfounding and carillon-making tradition associated with the Vanden Gheyn and Van Aerschodt families. Its documented origins lie in Mechelen, where Willem Van den Ghein established a bell foundry in 1506 after arriving from Goirle in the Northern Netherlands. Over successive generations, the family produced church bells, tower bells and musical bell installations for religious and civic buildings across Belgium and neighboring countries. The family name gradually developed from Van den Ghein into Vanden Gheyn, while later branches used the Van Aerschodt name. The business became especially prominent under Pieter I Vanden Gheyn, whose sixteenth-century work included substantial carillons for Oudenburg, Roosendael Abbey, Zierikzee and Edam. His descendants continued working through a period of war, religious migration and economic decline in Mechelen. Pieter II and Pieter III supplied bells and carillons to towns in the Low Countries and Scotland, while later family members collaborated with the De Clerck bellfounders. By the seventeenth century, the Mechelen branch had become intertwined with other local founding families, and the Vanden Gheyn name eventually ceased to be used there. A separate continuation developed through Andries I Vanden Gheyn, who moved first to Sint-Truiden and later to Tienen. His descendants established a foundry in Leuven. Andries II Vanden Gheyn created a large, though technically challenging, carillon for Leuven's St. Peter's Church in 1728. His brother Peter later continued the operation and supplied instruments and bells to Antwerp, Steenokkerzeel, Veere and other locations. The family tradition also produced Matthias Vanden Gheyn, who left the foundry trade for a musical career and became a celebrated Leuven carillonneur and an early composer of music specifically written for the carillon. Andreas Jozef Vanden Gheyn returned the family's principal attention to bellfounding in the mid-eighteenth century. He cast or recast numerous carillons in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, marking his instruments with numbered works called “Opus.” His tuning work was regarded as exceptional for the period. The family foundry was interrupted by the French Revolution and the French occupation of the Low Countries, and many historic carillons were damaged or destroyed. André Louis Vanden Gheyn resumed work in Leuven but did not produce new carillons. After his death, his grandson André Louis Jean Van Aerschodt took over the business and signed bells with both family names, creating the combined Vanden Gheyn–Van Aerschodt identity represented by this entry. André Louis Jean and his brother Sévérin became major nineteenth-century Belgian bellfounders. André Louis Jean's 1844 Salvator bell for St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen weighed approximately eight tons and was described as Belgium's heaviest bell for more than a century. Sévérin established a rival Leuven operation in 1851, while also claiming continuity with the older Vanden Gheyn tradition. The Van Aerschodt branches revived the production of complete carillons and exported them widely. Their work reached Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States, including a 25-bell installation for the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia, noted as the first carillon in the Americas equipped with a baton keyboard. The family also produced the 1909 carillon for Ypres Cloth Hall, which was destroyed during the First World War. Félix Van Aerschodt was the last major representative of the combined tradition. He fled to London during the First World War and worked there in a managing role connected with foundry and munitions production before returning to Leuven. After the war he cast only two additional carillons. Because he left no successor, the Vanden Gheyn–Van Aerschodt company ended with him. The wider family legacy continued indirectly through related Leuven foundries, but the original dynasty's commercial operation was no longer active by the mid-twentieth century.

The Vanden Gheyn tradition began in Mechelen in 1506 when Willem Van den Ghein established a foundry after moving from Goirle. His sons and later descendants expanded the workshop's output from individual bells to increasingly ambitious carillons. Pieter I, Pieter II and Pieter III Vanden Gheyn supplied instruments throughout the Low Countries and beyond, despite the disruption caused by war and the decline of Mechelen after the late sixteenth-century population exodus. The Mechelen line later intersected with the De Clerck founding family. A separate branch moved through Sint-Truiden and Tienen before becoming established in Leuven. In the eighteenth century, Andries II and Peter Vanden Gheyn produced carillons for Leuven, Antwerp, Steenokkerzeel, Nieuwpoort, Nijmegen and other cities. Matthias Vanden Gheyn, although trained in the family workshop, pursued music rather than manufacturing and became an influential Leuven carillonneur. Andreas Jozef Vanden Gheyn continued the Leuven foundry and produced a sequence of numbered carillon works. He was especially noted for tuning quality and for projects in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. The French Revolution and subsequent occupation interrupted production and damaged numerous instruments. André Louis Vanden Gheyn resumed bellfounding in Leuven but did not continue the family's carillon output. The business passed to André Louis Jean Van Aerschodt, who used both family names on his bells. He and his brother Sévérin were among Belgium's most important nineteenth-century bellfounders. Their workshops supplied bells and carillons across Europe and to the United States. The Van Aerschodt branches also undertook major restoration, extension and recasting work, as well as new installations. Félix Van Aerschodt produced the Ypres Cloth Hall carillon in 1909, but it was destroyed during the First World War. After wartime work in London, he returned to Leuven and made only limited further production. His lack of a successor brought the principal Vanden Gheyn–Van Aerschodt company to an end. Related family foundries continued for a time, but the historic line described here became defunct in the twentieth century.

• 1943

  End of the principal dynasty

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  The company ended with the death of Félix Van Aerschodt, who left no successor.

• 1909

  Ypres Cloth Hall carillon

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  Félix Van Aerschodt created a carillon for Ypres Cloth Hall.

• 1851

  Sévérin opens a rival foundry

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sévérin Van Aerschodt established a separate Leuven company while maintaining a claim to the Vanden Gheyn heritage.

• 1844

  Salvator bell cast

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  André Louis Jean and Sévérin Van Aerschodt cast the large Salvator bell for Mechelen Cathedral.

• 1751

  Andreas Jozef takes over

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  Andreas Jozef Vanden Gheyn became the principal bellfounder of the Leuven branch.

• 1728

  Leuven St. Peter's carillon

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  A 25-bell commission for St. Peter's Church led to the establishment of a Leuven foundry for larger bells.

• 1539

  Oudenburg carillon

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  Pieter I Vanden Gheyn delivered a ten-bell carillon to Oudenburg.

• 1506

  Foundry established in Mechelen

  [1]Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org

  Willem Van den Ghein established the family bell foundry in Mechelen.

A historic Belgian specialist in large-scale bell casting, carillon construction, restoration and tuning, distinguished by multigenerational craft knowledge and an extensive international record of commissions.

• Musical bell instruments · 1526

  Carillons

  The family's principal specialized product was the carillon, a tuned group of bells played from a keyboard. Across several centuries, Vanden Gheyn and Van Aerschodt workshops made new instruments, enlarged existing installations and supplied replacement bells for civic towers, churches, abbeys and private estates. Their work ranged from small early bell sets to substantial installations of more than thirty bells.

• Bells · 1506

  Church and tower bells

  The foundries produced individual bells for churches, cathedrals, town halls and other buildings. Projects included large tolling bells, additions to existing peals and replacement bells cast after damage. The Salvator for St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen was among the best-known large bells associated with the Van Aerschodt branch.

• Foundry services · 1751

  Bell tuning and recasting

  The family also worked on the correction, retuning, recasting and completion of existing carillons. Andreas Jozef Vanden Gheyn was particularly associated with high-quality tuning, while later Van Aerschodt workshops undertook expansions and replacement programs in Belgium and abroad.

• 1851

  Creation of a separate Van Aerschodt operationStrategy

  Background

  Sévérin Van Aerschodt had worked in the family operation before establishing an independent company in Leuven.

  Action taken

  He created a rival foundry while presenting it as a continuation of the established Vanden Gheyn bellfounding tradition.

  Aftermath

  The two Van Aerschodt brothers became major Belgian bellfounders, and both branches contributed to the international revival of carillon production.

  Source

1. 1Vanden Gheyn familyen.wikipedia.org