ORIGINS

villa Portier

The property was given from the French Emporer Napoleon III to General Dubois.

Pierre-Louis-Antoine Bortier's "Le Magnifique" (1770-Londen 1830) later bought the 650 ha dunes and villa for 12.000 guldens. He later went to London for his textile business and died there. His nephew Pierre-Louis-Antoine Bortier (1805-1879) was his heir, and after his death in 1879, his sister Emilie-Sophie Bortier (1802-1891) inherited the villa. Emilie-Sophie Bortier, was married with Joseph-Nicolas-Gérard Calmeyn (1780-1838), "conseiller à la cour impériale à Bruxelles". From there, the estate came to their son, Pierre-Louis Calmeyn, who married Flore Rey. For some time, Madame du Vigneaud took up residence for a couple of years with her two daughters. One of them was Miss Hennessy.

VIlla de Terschueren alias Villa Albert I

This villa was built by Adile-Jacques Mulle de der Schueren ( 1857- 1932) in 1914. Ter Schueen -was married in 1884 to Louise-Marie Calmeyn (1859-1932), the daughter of Pierre-Louis Calmeyn en Flore Rey. Together they had their son, later Baron Louis Mulle de der Schueren (1887-1957), who later married Marie-Louise Solvyns.

Villa Masks

He was built by Paul Masks (1855), who was a Belgian diplomat and the son of Elise Calmeyn (1828-1899) and Charles Maskens (1807-1864). He later married Madeline Marlon.

Villa 'St. Joseph'

This villa was built around 1910 by baron Louis Mulle de ter Schueren (1887-1957), who also owned the estate de Terschueren. In 1911, fled sisters from the Dominikanessen from Portugal occupied the villa and started on Queen Elisabeth's request a school for orphans and refugees at the beginning of World War I. The princes Leopold and Charles, together with Princes Marie-José, were also educated here Dutch, during their stay in La Panne, by the teacher  Camiel Noterdaeme (1884-1963).

Camiel Noterdaeme was a teacher in the St. Aloysiuscollege and was asked one afternoon to come to Mayor M. D'arripe. Here he was introduced to H. Ingenbleek, the private secretary of King Albert and was asked to teach Queen Elisabeth the Dutch language. The queen learned even the West-Flemish dialect to communicate better with the wounded soldiers. In 1939, Mr Noterdaeme asked that his daughter, Godelieve, would like to serve at the Royal Household. She accepted the duty and became the private chamber girl of prinses Joséphine Charlotte.

After the war, the sisters took up residence in the villa St Vincent' at La Panne.