Office of the N.V. Fabriek van wollen dekens ‘De Blauwe Klok’ v.h. Zuurdeeg

Built into the front is a gateway from 1652, originally belonging to the 17th-century brewery De Clock. The gateway features a basket-arched entrance with double panelled doors, decorated with white-painted diamond-shaped stones and a keystone carved with a clock. Above it sits a curved pediment with a bright white arch field, showing a bell marked Anno 1652, surrounded by elegant plant motifs, ribbons and ram’s heads. At the top of the façade, the inscription “1805. JAN ZUURDEEG EN ZOON. 1895.” still proudly commemorates the later textile factory De Blauwe Klok (“The Blue Clock”).

The area now known as Klokpoort was once home to the brewery De (Witte) Clock. Over the centuries, the site changed hands many times and served various purposes, including a majolica workshop and later a dye works. In 1805, a new chapter began when Jan Zuurdeeg founded his woollen blanket factory here. After a devastating fire in 1877, a new factory and office were built nearby, incorporating elements of the original 1652 gateway into the new façade. The factory became a well-known Leiden enterprise, operating for nearly 130 years before closing in 1933. The former office building was eventually converted into apartments, while the old factory grounds were cleared to make way for the city’s north–south traffic route. Today, the street name Klokpoort serves as a quiet tribute to the clocks, brewers, weavers, and generations of craftsmanship that shaped this historic corner of Leiden.