What is a pothuis?
A pothuis is a low, often half-sunken store with a lean-to roof, built against the front or side wall of a house or shop. You find them in old Dutch town centres beside the stoep — the flight of steps running from the street up to the front door — usually on ground belonging to the property.
According to the Dutch Language Institute the word means a small, low building attached to a larger house, originally used to store pots and pans: pot plus huis.
What it was for
- Storage and selling at street level. A display spot for wares such as earthenware and kitchen goods, right on the flow of the street.
- Outside access to the cellar. In houses with a raised main floor the cellar sits half above ground. The pothuis then covers the external stair or the hatch through which goods went down — fuel, beer, peat, merchandise.
- Workshop. In Amsterdam pothuizen were reused on a large scale as cobblers’ workshops or as cabins for porters and doorkeepers.
Why you rarely see them now
Most pothuizen disappeared during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, partly because municipalities pushed back structures encroaching on the public highway. A handful survive in historic city centres, where they count as protected heritage and are well documented in historical town atlases.
A second meaning: at the mill
In mill terminology a pothuis is something else entirely: the casing enclosing the water wheel of a watermill, protecting the wheel and its gearing.
Points to watch with an existing pothuis
- Damp is the main problem. A half-sunken structure against a wall is by definition a place where water collects. Check that the paving falls away from the facade and that there is proper drainage.
- Ventilate the cellar behind it. Sealing a pothuis turns the cellar into a closed damp box. Vents in the approach are a necessity, not a draught leak.
- Restore rather than renew. The brickwork, the bluestone cover slabs and the ironwork are part of the historic character. Repair with lime mortar rather than cement mortar.
- Always ask the local authority. A pothuis often stands partly on municipal land and, in a listed building, falls under protection; even maintenance can require consent.
Related terms
- Stoop
- Basement
- Piano nobile
- Canal house
- Cellar
- Watermill
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