Woningen aan de Rue de Lille te Ieper before 1889

This monochrome photograph shows brick houses on the Rue de Lille in Ypres. Though the artist is anonymous and the exact date is unknown, the inscription suggests these buildings were made in the 17th century. These buildings in Ypres, Belgium, display the typical brickwork and architectural styles common in Flanders at the time. Brick facades such as these reflect the region’s building traditions and economic conditions. It is worth noting that the buildings depended on the Saint-Nicolas hospital, suggesting a connection to institutional structures of social welfare. As historians, we might want to investigate the archives of that hospital, to understand the social function of these buildings. Perhaps they housed people dependent on its charitable support? Such historical research helps us to understand not just the physical structures, but the wider social conditions in which they were built.