Ter Hooge Castle. Ter Hooge Castle is an 18th-century manor in Middelburg. It includes parts of a medieval castle. Medieval Ter Hooge Castle was a polygonal castle on a height. The Dutch words literally mean On the height. It's not sure whether this height can be equaled to the Motte of a Motte-and-bailey castle. The height was probably artificial, but there are no clues that it originally had a tower-like structure on top, i.e. in the center. The castle terrain had buildings on all sides, except the eastern side, where a gallery was later constructed. On the northwest side was a high tower house with a still somewhat higher stair tower. This stair tower still survives, and part of the central building is the same as the tower house. A thorough investigation of the construction history has not been done. The central tower house dates from, or was renovated during the 1620s works by Philips van Borssele van der Hooghe. A floor plan of the castle in 1695 was originally made by Isaac Hildernisse, and survives in copy. This has a scale that gives an east west diameter of the castle of 135 Rijnland feet of 0.3140 m, i.e. 42.4 meter, and a north-south diameter of 105 Rijnland feet, or 33 meter. Hildernisse's work, or what his copyist made of it, is accurate in general. However, it shows a tendency to regularize aspects, e.g. showing 90 degree angles, perfect squares and circles, walls of the same thickness, etc. For Ter Hooge Castle, it's important that the floor plan is in line with a drawing by Cornelis Pronk, who is known for his accuracy. An old engraving in the Nieuwe Cronyk van Zeeland suggests that the outer bailey of the medieval castle had a gate building. The manor that was built from 1754 to 1757 followed French examples, notably the work of Jacques-Francois Blondel. The final design might have been made by Pieter de Swart. As stated above, the manor incorporates parts of the old castle. The tower house became the new central building. The existing tower was heightened and got a new spire, and to the east a twin tower was added for symmetry. Two wings were added to the existing tower house to create a U-shaped floor plan. The moat in front was filled up, and on the back side it was enlarged to become a pond. The drawing room in the left wing has a ceiling with rococo stucco. The hall in the central building has beams with stucco that might be attributed to Carlo Laghi. In 1751 Jean de Lage made a design for the park, but this was not executed. A second design dated from 1753 and was probably made by Pieter de Swart. This design was executed. However, in 1806-1809 the garden was changed to a landscape garden, and in 1926 it was reorganized according to a design by L.A. Springer. The October 1944 Inundation of Walcheren destroyed the park around the castle. In 1947 the Nederlandsche Heidemaatschappij planted a new forest. The terrain has a gardener's house and an Orangery from 1879. In 1291 a Symon van der Hoghe pledge fealty to the count of Holland. Symon van der Hooghe was also mentioned in 1299. It might be supposed that Symon built the first version of the castle, as this often coincided with such a pledge. Ter Hooge Castle next came to the Van Brigdamme branch of the Van Borselen clan. In 1448 Ter Hooge Castle was bought by Adriaen Jacobsz. from Middelburg. This family started to name itself after the castle. From Adriaen it then came to Joos van der Hooghe, and then to a second Adriaen van der Hooghe The castle had some privileges. It had a road to Middelburg that went over the count of Zeeland's territory. In 1501 Philip the Fair granted the privilege to have a moat and bridge. The owner also had the right to brew beer without taxation, to hunt and to fish. Law officers would not have authority on the outer bailey of the castle. During the Siege of Middelburg from 1572 to 1574, Ter Hooge Castle was severely damaged. On 20 April 1572 it was occupied by Willem Bloys van Treslong, and Adriaen's oldest son Jan van der Hooge had to flee to Brabant. After the siege the castle was restored. Jan's son Pieter van der Hooghe was of Zeeland bewester Schelde from 1596 to 1603, and represented the in the States of Zeeland, but this was for Philip William, Prince of Orange. Pieter's son Philips started to call himself Van Borssele van der Hooghe. His son Pieter van Borssele van der Hooghe died in 1666. The last Van Borssele van der Hooghe that owned the castle, was Philips Joseph, born there in 1669. The Van Borssele van der Hooghe branch founded by Adriaen's oldest son Jan remained Catholic, and was therefore effectively banned from office in Zeeland. Philips Joseph left Zeeland for the Spanish Netherlands. In 1712 Steven Scheyderuyt bought Ter Hooge Castle.