Jean Pesijnhofje

Jean Pesijn was a fugitive from what is now the district of Lille in North France. After the death of his only daughter during the plague of 1655, heand his wife, Marie de Lannoy, decided to found some almshouses. After the death of Jean, Marie bought a few houses in the English passageway in the Kloksteeg. The passageway was so-called because it was built shortly after 1611 by a few of the English followers of the Reverend John Robinson. This group was later to become known under the name of the Pilgrim Fathers, the founders of one of the oldest and most important colonies in America. In 1980 the almshouses underwent extensive restoration.